Story Deck
by esama
Summary: Random ideas of possible Yugioh stories, mostly Alternate Universe.
1. Endless Dream

**Endless dream**

Yami looked at the headset with mixed feelings. On one hand he was excited and on other he was slightly fearful. The simple white headset was the latest and no doubt greatest achievement of virtual gaming technology. There had been virtual game technologies before, ones that allowed one to transport their selves into virtual world where they could meet and play with hundreds and thousands - possibly hundreds of thousands - of other people using same technology. But unlike those other virtual games, this one could be used when one was asleep. Body would be resting like it was supposed to while mind could be off in another world, playing and enjoying.

The simple headset was expensive. It had taken him quite bit of work to save enough money to buy it - and he had a fairly well paying job. The game gear - Virtual Dream, VD for short - had been praised by critics all around the world and it was said to be the greatest achievement of the virtual technology. According to the news, they even used the VD and the likes in hospitals these days, not only to entertain those who had lost the mobility of their bodies, but the technology was being used in medicine itself.

Yami had played virtual games before - with much older gear though. He was more adjusted to playing only for hour or two at time and being aware of his body even whilst controlling a virtual body in a virtual world. They said that with the VD, the body was truly left behind to rest, and the player wasn't aware of it until it started to wake up, which usually ended the virtual simulation. He was a bit fearful of the experience of being unaware of his body. Especially since he had read some VD ghost stories of people who whilst playing VD couldn't wake themselves up and ended up in coma.

He snorted. "No way could something like that really happen," he murmured, fiddling the headset in his fingers. "These things have all sorts of fail saves build into them protect the psyche. Hundreds of doctors have vouched for them…"

With a shake of his head, he held the headset up and fitted it to his temples and forehead. Then he turned the power on. He winced with surprise as he felt the mechanism tighten at his temples. It was surprisingly light to wear - after a moment he hardly felt it there. But then again, in comparison to his former bulky gear which covered the entire head, this set was much lighter and smaller.

With a deep inhale, Yami glanced at his bedside table to make sure he had put the alarm on. He didn't have work the next day, but he still wanted to wake up on time - if not for any other reason, then just to make sure that he would wake up at the alarm even when playing the VD.

"Okay, here goes," he murmured with a slight trepidation, and leaned back in his bed. Pulling the covers over himself, he settled into as comfortable position as he could and closed his eyes. After taking a deep breath, he spoke out. "Virtual Dream, activate."

Immediately a pleasant female voice of the system spoke right into his head as the darkness behind his eyelids flashed into colour. "Virtual Dream has been activated. Welcome, player Atemu, level fifty-eight. How do you wish to proceed?"

'_My level's the same as before?'_ he thought with surprise. "I want to see my settings," Yami spoke, but this time he didn't do it with his mouth, not with his real mouth anyway. Immediately he saw his settings before his eyes - or before his mind. He was slightly surprised to see that he had maintained the same level he had had with the last gear - but then again it shouldn't have been surprising. They said that the virtual realms of the newer gears were linked to the older ones. It made sense that players who switched from older to newer would keep their levels and equipments.

"Good. I want to start playing now," Yami said, satisfied with his old settings as they were familiar to him.

"Please name your preferred server and starting point," the pleasant female voice said.

_'If I've kept my old levels and equipments, then maybe… I can play in my old server too?_' Yami thought with bit of excitement. Leaving his old server behind had been something he had been dreading when he had bought the VD - he had been playing in the Khemet server for a long while, it would've been pity to be forced to switch servers. "Server Khemet; starting point Akhetaten."

"Server Khemet is currently under construction until further notice. Virtual Dream apologises for the inconvenience," the female voice said in apologising tone. "If you do not have a preferred server and starting point, it may be selected randomly."

Yami was quiet for a moment, thinking about it. _'Under construction? That's good. They haven't shut it down completely then. Maybe they will finally fix the glitches in the damn walls too - not that it wasn't cool to see through them…'_ "Random server is fine then," Yami said, as he didn't know any of the newer servers.

"Your server will be Domino, starting point central square. Please enjoy your playing," the female voice answered to him. Immediately after the darkness around Yami begun to shift. Glow of sort surrounded him, and once it had faded away he found himself standing in a square.

Curiously he looked around. This "Domino" city was definitely not what he preferred. He usually went with the Ancient Egypt theme - like Khemet's various cities and fields. Domino was nothing like the places where he usually played - it actually looked just like a modern city. There were some dozen other people in the square, but thankfully Yami - who was dressed into Egyptian clothing - wasn't the only one who didn't have proper outfit. Near by there was a girl who apparently preferred fantasy servers, and group of boys that had probably been playing in some mecha orientated server.

"I see you're not from around here," slightly amused voice spoke from behind Yami. Quickly turning around, Yami saw a teenage boy sitting in a bench there, dressed into rather typical school uniform. The boy's uniform was dark blue, but he had obviously modified it a bit. There were buckles at the ends of his sleeves, the pants he had on were leather and there was a thick leather collar around his neck. "Hiya. Are you lost?"

"Can't be lost when you have no idea where you're supposed to go," Yami smiled a little, scratching his neck. It was a bit embarrassing to be in Egyptian clothing in such modern server - even if he usually considered his Egyptian equipment rather cool. "My usual server is under construction and I don't really know any of the newer ones."

"Ah," the teen nodded. "There has been lot of constructing around the virtual realms these days. Probably because of VD. I guess this is your first time in Domino, then?" at Yami's nod, the kid smiled. "Domino is a… well, its pretty new server, at least in comparison to the older ones like Khemet - which I guess is your preferred server. They call Domino the game server in the forums. Here there aren't actual quests or such, but there are tournaments. For card games, board games… stuff like that. There's a Duel Monsters tournament coming up soon."

"Oh?" Yami asked curiously, stepping closer and taking seat beside the other player. "I haven't played in any other server than Khemet in a long while. In Khemet there is this system that everyone has place in the populace - we have houses, jobs, duties and all that. People can even virtually marry and move in together if they want to. Is it like that in Domino?"

"Well… yeah, I guess," the other player chuckled. "I, like you can probably tell, am supposed to be a high school student. Here people tend to take the whole 'being part of the society' thing loosely, though. Everyone's here for the games, not to play house. Though some of the smaller tournaments happen between selected people, like workers of certain company or students of selected school. In my high school there was just recently a small Digi-Pet tournament."

"Hmm…" Yami nodded thoughtfully. "Though, if you just play games, how do you level up?"

"Well, winning games is like defeating opponents - it gives experience points too," the teen shrugged. "But since in this server there aren't any monsters or such, the experience points come from people's levels. Average is hundred experience points per level - for example, if you beat someone of level sixteen in some game, you'll get thousand and sixteen experience points." The teen chuckled and held up his hand. "I'm Yugi, by the way."

Yami took the hand and shook it. "Atemu," Yami said his username as the other's username was automatically saved somewhere in his settings. Then he smiled a bit at the other's name. "Game? Not all that original in server of games, is it?"

The other laughed. "Would you believed if I told you that it's my actual name?" he asked with amethyst eyes full of mirth. "I swear to you, it's my given name. It does fit in this place, though."

"I'd imagine so," Yami nodded, slightly surprised that someone would actually be using their real name in the virtual realms. Very few people did - he never had. Atemu had been his username since the beginning. Shaking is head, he looked over the square. People were sitting around chatting while some people popped in and out as if teleporting - server surfers. "So… what do you usually do in this place?"

"Play games," Yugi shrugged. "Usually with my friends - and occasionally with my enemies. It seems no one I know is on today," he glanced at the other. "I could show you around. You might want to equip other set of clothing, though. Here in the square no one will care since lost souls like you pop in and out all the time, but… servers have their rules and people tend to get pissed off at players who don't wear right clothing in certain servers. Domino is bit loose on that - we players tend to be bit of weird most of the time and most people don't care, but there are less than nice players everywhere."

With a mild frown, Yami opened his inventory. A scroll of transparent papyrus popped up into the air before him, listing all the items and equipments he had. "I would change my clothing, but I only have Khemet's equipment in my inventory," he said with a shrug.

"I could sell you something," Yugi opened his inventory too - his was styled like hologram computer screen. Reaching his hand to the scrollbar, Yugi scrolled the screen down to show Yami some of the equipment he had. "These are just clothing, though. In Domino no one has Attack and Defence points and such, so these won't protect you from getting stabbed in Khemet," he chuckled. "Tell me if you see something you'd like."

Yami leaned forward to see what Yugi had in his inventory. "Bit of a punk, are you?" he asked amusedly. Most of Yugi's clothing and accessory leaned towards that direction. He had lot of leather and most of his clothing were either black or dark blue. Yugi also seemed to have a large variety of accessories such as different collars, wristbands, bracelets, rings… Yami even saw some sort of chain in the inventory.

"We're all allowed to have our styles, aren't we?" Yugi asked with a smile and pointed at one black shirt with sleeves torn off. "That would fit you nicely."

"It says Yugi in it," Yami said flatly.

Yugi grinned at him. "You'd be like my walking advertisement!"

"Uhhuh," the darker skinned player shook his head and pointed a shirt similar to the one Yugi had pointed - though this one was without any names. "That one looks better."

Yugi gave him a look before shrugging. "Okay. I'll know not to ask any fashion advices from you then… but okay."

"It's your shirt, and you're saying I have bad taste for picking it?" Yami asked a bit flatly. "Aren't you insulting yourself rather than me?"

"Oh, I like the shirt. I just like the other shirt better," Yugi said pleasantly. Yami snorted at him, but was ignored. "What kind of pants do you want? Most of mine tend to be leather… so you can't wrong with them, since they're all perfect," Yugi grinned slightly at the look Yami gave him. "Hey, leather's fashionable! But if you really want to be such a square, we could go into some clothing store to get some clothes for you. They won't be anywhere near as stylish as mine are, though."

"Riight," Yami murmured. Then he sighed and just picked one pair of leather pants randomly from Yugi's inventory. Next to select were shoes - Yami selected a pair of black boots. "If I'm lucky, they will get Khemet up and running soon again and I don't have to wear these clothing ever again."

"You wound me, sir," Yugi gasped before leaning forward. "Now, let's talk about money…"

After moment of haggling, Yami - feeling like he had gotten the short end of the deal - equipped into his new clothing. In comparison to his former linen clothing golden accessory, the leather pants and sleeveless shirt were… definitely different. "Ugh, it feels like I'm wearing nothing at all waist down," he murmured while standing up and talking few steps to get adjusted to the clothing.

"You're looking very good, though. Not as good as you could, but… good." Yugi hummed happily while closing his inventory. "Though I have no idea why you're whining, exactly. You were wearing a _skirt_ before, if you didn't notice…" With a stretch he sat up. "Now, let me show you around the wonderful city of games."

"It wasn't a _skirt_," Yami muttered with a slight glare. Yugi just brushed it aside with an easygoing grin and motioned him to follow. For a moment Yami pondered if following the quirky player was such a good idea. Then he decided with a sigh that if Yugi would lead him into trouble, he could just exit the server.

Domino, Yami noticed to his mild annoyance and jealousy, was lot more detailed world than Khemet. Khemet had not only suffered from glitches, but there had been lot of repentance in the ancient Egypt themed server. Same patterns had been used countless times, the houses followed the same form with only the furniture being different, even the streets and plants were endless copies of each other. Sure some buildings had been unique - like Akhetaten's palace and the six temples… but even in those buildings the same patterns were used over and over again - the pillars for example had been identical.

Domino, by the look of it, was unique everywhere. Yami couldn't see any building that would've even resembled another. That gave the city slightly messed but very unique outlook - the kind of you liked to explore just because it was different everywhere. The trees planted at the sides of the streets seemed to be all different. Even the asphalt street was unique and Yami couldn't any repeating pattern in it.

Yami bit his teeth. He couldn't see one single glitch in the city. Everything seemed to be perfect. The windows of the shops reflected their image, the wind ruffled each tree uniquely - and he could feel that said wind on his skin. Heck, he could even smell it. If he hadn't known better, he could've thought that he was in actual world, walking on actual street of an actual city.

"Quite different from Khemet, hm?" Yugi smiled somewhat smugly, glancing at him. "Domino isn't exactly the newest server, but it's whole lot newer than Khemet - and Domino is updated often, so it's just as good as the newest servers." He grinned at the way Yami looked away. "Ah, you're really attached to your server, aren't you? Well, you have to be to be _still_ playing in it. Khemet's, what, seven years old now?"

"Eight," Yami grind out and shot a mild glare at the other player. "It was the first server I played in. It holds sentimental value."

"I'm sure," Yugi chuckled. "Don't worry. Since it had been actually _closed_ _down_ for construction, it will be soon as good as new," he motioned around. "With graphics as good as in this one. I might even visit it once it's done - it might even be worth checking out then."

Yami gave him a flat look. "It's a pity that Domino is pacifistic server," he murmured looking away. It would've been nice to shove a knife into Yugi's gut. Just once.

"Who said anything about it being pacifistic?" Yugi asked amusedly. "I don't have Attack or Defence points here, as much as is true. But it doesn't mean that I can't attack or defend." He glanced around quickly before taking Yami's hand. "Let me show you."

"Hey --!" Yami yelped indignantly, but wasn't heard. Yugi quickly dragged him from the main street into an alley, though it and to another street. There he stopped and pointed at something. Looking up with confusion, Yami saw a small group of people gathered around two players who stood facing each other with some space between them. The people around them were rooting the two players - middle aged woman and young girl by the look of it. Both of the two were holding cards in their hands, which made no sense to Yami. Wouldn't card game be easier with a table?

"That's Duel Monsters. It's one of the most popular games here, so it's a good example of how we are _not_ pacifistic around here," Yugi explained, folding his hands. "It's a card game - and no, you don't need table for it. Look."

Taking one card of the ones she had in her hands, the elder player held it up. She called out that she was summoning something. Immediately after some sort of monster appeared before her. She also threw two cards into the ground, where they grew in size, floating over the ground with their face down. Then she made a motion as if to hand something over to the girl. The girl quickly summoned some sort of creature. She had the creature attack the woman's creature, destroying it.

"It's true, we can't exactly stab each other here. Not unless you're hacker and can bypass the server codes and rules, and all that" Yugi shrugged while watching the battle. "But we can fight. And we do. We tend to fight a lot."

Yami blinked and folded his hands. He had to admit that he was slightly curious. This wasn't how things worked back in Khemet. "How does that work? That game over there? You don't have any attack or defence points, so I assume you don't have any other points either…"

"We have levels," Yugi took something out of his pocket - a small hand held computer. "That woman over there for example is at level eighteen at Duel Monsters, at level seven in Capsule Monsters, at level fifteen in Monster World… and so forth. Given, here at what level you are doesn't mean all that much. Levels are set to mark the skill, but they don't determinate it. The more you win the higher level you get. Of course, we need things like cards and such to play. Levels affect those, a bit. The higher level you are at, the better shops you can get into… and in better shops you can buy better cards. And so forth"

"I… don't get it," Yami murmured with a frown. "I'm more adjusted to getting stronger with levels. That every time I level up, my points get up as well…"

Yugi shrugged. "Servers are different. Khemet is strictly role playing server. Domino is more of a puzzle orientated server."

Yami nodded and glanced at him curiously. "What sort of games can you play here? Duel Monsters I guess was created just for this server. Are the other games like that too?"

"Actually, Duel Monsters existed in real world too. It's just more exciting in VD - it's pretty much the same for every game here," Yugi said. "But there are games you've heard of too. There are casinos here where you can play poker, roulette… even slots. There are also lot of people who play games like Chess, Go, Shogi and such here. Last time I looked, there were over eight hundred different board games you could play here - given, not all of them are all that popular. And only the popular ones have tournaments."

Yami nodded slowly. "I think I'm starting to get it," he murmured and glanced the other player. "What's your game?"

Yugi glanced at him, chuckling softly and turned away. Looking after him with confusion, Yami tried to figure out what he had said that could be funny. _'Maybe he's mocking me again? I can't figure out if this guy is nice or annoying!'_ he mused silently with a slightly confused frown.

"Come on!" Yugi called at him over his shoulder. Shaking his head Yami quickly followed.

* * *

With this story I had the idea fo Yugi and Yami exploring all sorts of gaming severs and visiting strange worlds. It seemed like interesting way of making a crossover and time travelling stuff. Sort of. Yugi would visit Atemu at Khemet, together they could visit mecha, fantasy, action, scifi servers and such... all sort of anime servers, even servers themed after books - like Harry Potter and such... I might one day develop this idea further, it seemed interesting.

My apologies for possile typos and errors and such.


	2. Out of Control

**Out of control**

Yugi looked up to the mansion just ahead of the road. He couldn't say that he was surprised to realise just how classy the mansion and the grounds around it looked like. After what he had heard about his client, the Sennens, he had had a clear vision of them. Wealthy people living away in the country side, away from the rush of the cities, content on running their businesses from afar. They were considered "rather peculiar" by the townspeople and their co-workers, but Yugi could certainly respect one's wish for peace and quiet.

With a hum, he pushed his hands into his jacket pockets as he continued to walk towards the mansion. It would be interesting though. The Sennens weren't like his usual clients. The wealthiest client he had so far had been retired archaeologist and even that man had been slightly suspicious of him until the very end. Wealthy people tended to be like that. Suspicious of everyone who attempted to help, no doubt believing them to be con-artists who were just after their money. The more you had the more you were afraid that it was taken from you after all.

Yugi blinked with surprise. There was a small crowd of people in front of the mansion. His surprise turned into slight frown as he recognised few in the crowd. Wanna-be-parapsychologists from TV; clairvoyants, prophets and fortune tellers. Pubic figures who, whether they had the ability or not, made money with what was his life's work.

Some of them glanced at him as he walked towards them but he tried not to look at anyone. He had a feeling that there was something going on here, something more than he had been led to believe in the letter. With all these psychics there it was logical assumption to suspect that the client was going to put up a competition between them. Possibly to weed out the frauds.

Yugi wasn't overly worried though, as he slipped his fingers underneath the straps of his backpack and slipped it off his shoulders. He trusted in his abilities and in the fate that was guiding him. If he was meant to be here and help these people with whatever problem they had, then he would. If it wasn't, one of these others would have the job. It was as simple as that.

"Hey," a brown haired young man stepped closer to him, looking curious. "You don't look like someone I've might've seen on TV." The man glanced around. "Most here I have but not you. Why are you here?"

"I got a letter of invitation. It's as simple as that," Yugi answered and then, ignoring the looks people were giving to him, sat down to the pavement. The others around him gave him shocked looks as he leaned comfortably against his rather large backpack. They, in their first rate, carefully ironed clothing would've never been so casual. But Yugi, comfortably dressed into jeans and sweater, had none of such worries. It looked like they might be in for a wait, and he had spend enough time on his feet already.

"You came here just because of the letter?" the brown-haired man asked, looking intrigued.

"Hm," Yugi nodded, crossing his arms behind his neck. "Seemed like just another job to me." That's how he usually got customers, by letters. Someone had heard about him from their uncle's friend who knew through his cousin who had heard from his co-worker whom Yugi had once helped… or something like that. When the letter came, Yugi usually went. He had never been adverse against travelling even if it would turn out to be for nothing.

"Where are you from?" the brown haired man asked.

"Domino," Yugi glanced up to the young man and took him in. Clean cream-shaded suit, rather peculiar haircut, sharp eyes… this man was no parapsychologist. "You're being a bit obvious," Yugi spoke out. "You work for the guy who lives there?"

His words seemed to surprise most of the psychics around him, who turned to look at the brown-haired man sharply. The young man, however, seemed delighted. "How could you tell?"

"You're asking too many questions and hadn't said a word about yourself yet. I guess you've already talked to everyone else here, as I came here last," Yugi closed his eyes. "And the suit is a dead giveaway."

"Many here are in suits."

"They are bodyguards, not psychics. And you definitely are no bodyguard, not with a suit like that," Yugi answered without opening his eyes. "My name is Yugi Mutou, I'm here because of the letter that was sent to me, and that is all. Do you need to know anything else?"

The young man chuckled at his words. "Very well, Yugi. My name is Mahado, I'm the assistant of the master of this mansion."

"I suspected as much," Yugi opened a single eye and looked up to the assistant. "You're here to weed out the most obvious frauds, huh? Makes sense."

While the psychics around them looked shocked, Mahado merely smiled before walking away. With a slight smile Yugi closed his eyes again. He had a feeling he had made the cut. Though if their estimation of psychic's skill relied solely on the one's common sense…

The young psychic looked up to the others around him. They seemed all excited and worried up about the upcoming competition. Under such conditions one could loose bit of their common sense, they were so concentrated in their less than common abilities that could pay little attention to the real world. Not Yugi, though. He had seen and experienced too much to lose his cool just because of some competition. He had been called here for a reason and that was all he cared about.

The front doors of the mansion were opened. Two men, both dressed into expensive tailored suits, stepped out. The first man had steel grey hair and smartly shaped beard of the same colour, and like Mahado he was wearing a cream-coloured suit. The other man had silver hair and facial hair, and his suit was black. Yugi eyed them thoughtfully. Something told him these two were brothers, and one of them was the client.

"Welcome everyone," the grey bearded man in light-coloured suit spoke. "My name is Akunum Sennen, and I am the one who summoned you all here. I thank you all for waiting. Now, the gentlemen and women whose names are called; please proceed inside and I will explain why I have called you here."

Mahado stepped forward and begun saying names. Yugi raised his eyebrow slightly at the assistant. Mahado was saying the names in alphabetical order and without any paper or note where he might've written them down. The man apparently had a good memory.

Few of the psychics tried to bring their bodyguards inside, but were forced to leave the men behind on Mahado's command. "Your men can stay outside, but they have no business in," the assistant simply said. "If this arrangement doesn't suit you, you are free to leave." None of those called inside left, but they didn't look too happy.

When his name was called out, Yugi sat up with a stretch before hauling his backpack up to his shoulder. As he begun to approach the porch of the mansion, he was stopped by a blonde man who seemed to be guard at the mansion. "Sir, I'm sorry but I must check the contents of the bag."

Yugi blinked at the man before handing the backpack over. "I won't be held accountable if you break something," he simply said. He had gotten the same treatment from the archaeologist back when he had been called to treat the man's son; he had almost gotten adjusted to it.

"Huh?" the guard looked surprised.

"I won't take responsibility if you break something," Yugi repeated. "You're the one who wants to check the bag so the consequences are yours as well."

Mahado, who had been listening, chuckled. "I think it's safe to let him keep the bag, Jono," he said under his breath. "I have a good feeling about this one."

The bodyguard hesitated before giving the bag back to Yugi. "It'll be your responsibility then, Mahado," the blonde guard said while touching the headset he had on. "I'll let the master know."

"You do that," the brown haired man nodded and made a hand motion a Yugi, suggesting that he went forth. Hoisting the backpack to his shoulder again, Yugi nodded his gratitude before stepping forward and inside the mansion. The front doors led into enormous entrance hall, where the other psychics were waiting more or less nervously.

Lowering the backpack to the floor, Yugi sat down beside it. The others gave him sharp looks before ignoring him, but he paid no attention to them. Instead he looked curiously around the entrance hall. There were large portraits there, one of them showing an image of younger Akunum Sennen.

"What do you think this all is about?" one of the psychics asked from another in hushed tone. "Aren't the Sennens the owners of the Millennium Corporation? Why would they need a psychic for?"

"Maybe they want someone to foretell the future stocks," someone snorted.

"I heard that Akunum's son caught ill about month ago," someone else whispered. "Usually the boy's always with Akunum but for a month he hasn't been seen or heard. Maybe this is about the boy?"

"You think he was kidnapped and they want us to find him or something?"

"Who knows…" the whispers continued and Yugi did his best to ignore them. It was better not to have any theories just yet, not before they were told what the whole thing was about. One might've argued that as psychics they were supposed to know these things before hand, but Yugi had never been all that good in divination. He could do it if it was absolutely necessary, but it was difficult and he preferred not to.

When the final psychic had walked in, the arguments of those who hadn't been called in were shut out by the closing of the front door. After the crowd had been left in nervous silence for a while, Akunum Sennen along with the man Yugi suspected to be his brother stepped forward to speak to them again.

"Welcome again," Akunum Sennen said to them again while his brother noticed and sneered slightly at Yugi, who was sitting on the floor. "You are here because I have heard of your abilities and find my self in need of talents you may or may not possess. Some of you I have seen on TV, others I know from rumours. To me your reputation doesn't matter because I am only after your skill. And if you are not skilled enough, I have no need for your services."

While the other psychics shifted uncomfortably, Yugi leaned back and yawned. Akunum continued speaking. "Month ago my son changed over night. He went to bed as Atemu Sennen and woke up with no memories of anything. He doesn't recognise me or anyone else around him, and he cannot understand our speech. We have been forced to restrain him to his bed to keep him from harming himself and others around him." There was pain in the man's face as he said this. "The doctors who have seen him cannot find anything wrong with him, other the fact that his eye colour has changed slightly. My uncle, who is a priest, suspects that he has been possessed but could not exorcise the spirit, if there is one."

Yugi closed his eyes and thought about it. No memories of people or speech and different eye colour?

"You have been called here because I am at the end of my robe and cannot think of anything else that could help my son," Akunum Sennen straightened his back. "The one of you who will find out what is wrong with my son and help him will be rewarded generously."

There was moment of tense silence as the other psychics digested the words. Since the Sennens seemed to be wealthy, "generous reward" would probably be rather large. Something thing like that would definitely interest these stage-wizards, Yugi mused. He was, however, more interested about the case. No memories and different eye colour… it didn't match very well.

"What colour did his eyes change to?" one of the other psychics asked bravely.

"Red," Akunum answered. "They were dark indigo before."

As the others whispered with shock Yugi opened his eyes. Red from indigo…? It didn't matter. The change of eye colour was nothing unheard of - eye colour changed very easily when magic is involved. Yugi himself had gone through large variety different eye colours. He was more interested in lost memories.

"Did your son loose the ability to speak or did he just forget Japanese language?" someone asked. "It could be a foreign spirit that doesn't understand Japanese so…"

"He lost the ability understand any languages and the sounds he makes are not speaking," Mr Sennen frowned.

Yugi frowned. The other psychics were whispering something about demon possession, but he thought differently. "When he changed," Yugi spoke out thoughtfully, "were there any marks on his body? Burns or anything like that?" he looked up to Akunum Sennen. "Or maybe a sore throat?"

The man seemed surprised before speaking slowly. "He was coughing and hacking in the first day, yes, but it didn't last," the man answered with a frown before turning curious. "Why do you ask that?"

Yugi shook his head. "Your uncle… is he a good priest?"

"I'd like to think so," Akunum frowned. "He has performed exorcisms before. All of those were successful except this one."

Nodding with satisfaction, Yugi turned to his bag and quickly reached inside. He knew what was going on here now - it was the same thing that had happened to the archaeologist's son. "Possession has been forced upon your son, Mr Sennen," he said. The other psychics snorted at him, muttering something about stating obvious. Yugi blinked at them. "I didn't say he was possessed. It's been forced upon him."

The young parapsychologist pulled out a crystal bottle with shining liquid inside it. While the other psychics stepped back in shock, Yugi showed the bottle to Mr Sennen. It shone silver in the hall. "This here is a spirit forced in to liquid form," Yugi explained. "Some times spirits can be forced into this sort of form - during exorcism for example, when spirit is taken from a host it can be forced into another host or it can been forced to take actual physical shape that can be contained. It's easier to lock a spirit into some sort of item, jewellery for example, but this sort of containment is possible as well."

He lowered the bottle to the floor beside him. "In some ancient cultures it was accustomed to contain a spirit after death in this manner - some magicians kept their enemies as prisoners like this, some kept their loved ones alive like this, and so forth and so forth. It's more lasting that forcing the spirit to inhabit an item of sort, but there is a danger. When a liquid like this is drunk, the spirit is forced to take possession of the drinker and there is no way to exorcise them after that. Also… most spirits lose all their memories when they are in this form. This is why the spirit in control of your son cannot understand speech, or speak at all. The spirit simply doesn't know how."

While some of the physics muttered in outrage, Akunum stepped forward and crouched to pick the bottle from the floor. "How did you come to this theory?" the man asked curiously while examining the bottle.

"Because the exorcism didn't work. I suspect you had your uncle try few times and brought others as well - people have tendency of asking priests before they ask psychics," Yugi shrugged. "And I saw a case like this about four years ago, so I'm familiar with the concept. A boy accidentally drank a spirit contained in small canopic jar… and was immediately possessed by the spirit."

"What happened?" Akunum asked sharply while handing the bottle back to him. "Were you able to get rid of the spirit?"

"No," Yugi shook his head. "With possession like this, exorcism isn't possible. The spirit has a physical presence in the host and after a month I suspect the spirit has already spreaded to your son's blood, muscles and bones… the spirit cannot be exorcised anymore. However…" Yugi pushed the bottle back to his back. "With the boy I was able to, over time, make the spirit understand that the body wasn't originally his. Eventually the host and the spirit came into agreement and now share the body. I can't say that it's exactly comfortable for either of them, both would prefer to have body of their own, but it's no longer possible."

"Mr Sennen," one of the other psychics stepped forward with an awkward smile on his face. "You shouldn't listen to the kid. He's obviously no psychic. He's too young to have any sort of experience and --"

"I am not a psychic, I'm a parapsychologist," Yugi answered calmly while standing up. "I have been one since graduating from college. And thank you very much, but I'm twenty-two."

"Uhhuh," the psychic smiled condescendingly and looked at Akunum. "Mr Sennen, perhaps it would be best if we real psychics would examine your son."

Akunum Sennen ignored the man, seeming intrigued with Yugi. "Parapsychologist? How is that different from psychic or mystic?"

"I just study the paranormal," Yugi shrugged. "I didn't ask to be here, I was asked."

The other psychics clearly could see that Akunum Sennen was most interested about Yugi. They immediately tried to take the man's attention away from Yugi. The man had already apparently made his mind, though. "Please come with me," the man motioned at Yugi to follow him. "What is your name, young man?"

"Yugi Mutou," Yugi answered, hoisting his backpack up and following the man. He ignored the glares from the psychics and the whispers of how he was an upstart taking their money. Akunum's silver bearded brother stayed in the entrance hall, leaving Yugi alone with the master the house. For some reason it relieved Yugi slightly.

"Your theory about the spirit liquid… thing is interesting. But I don't understand how my son could've drank something like that," Akunum spoke as they left the entrance hall behind. "There shouldn't be anything like that in this mansion. And he knows better than to drink any glowing substances."

"How old is your son?" Yugi asked softly.

"Sixteen, he will be seventeen soon though," the steel haired man frowned.

"He is your heir, isn't he?" Yugi glanced at the man. "I don't know much about your family as I rarely follow the news of the business world, but I suspect that you are the president of your company and your son is your heir. You have to consider that someone might've forced your son to absorb the liquid against his will to make him unable to inherit."

Akunum frowned. "I have thought of that - back when we suspected that someone might've use some sort of drug on him… but…" the man sighed. "It is very peculiar way to take someone out."

"Effective, though. For this sort of possession, if it is what I think it is, there is no 'cure'," Yugi frowned. "Although it might be that someone came across spirit liquid and suspected it to be some sort of radioactive substance…"

The elder man shook his head. "That thought doesn't console me at all," he mused before motioning to a door they were approaching. "This is the room where we have my son restrained. At first we were forced to restrain him in his bed, he kept trashing about, but since we've made… special quarters for him."

Special quarters indeed. It looked like luxurious cell. There were all the comforts possible there, large bed, soft carpets, very comfortable looking couch… but the windows were barred and there were bars running across the room, making sure that the contained boy couldn't reach the door. The room behind the bars was bit of a mess, though. The bed was messed up and someone had clawed the couch's cushions.

Yugi ignored the bars and the messed room and took his attention to the subject himself. He was a lithe youth with spiky hair and wild eyes. Yugi wasn't entirely surprised to see that he was completely naked, pacing across the room restlessly. The youth didn't stop when they entered, merely threw a glare at them before continuing his pacing. He looked like caged animal.

"This is my son, Atemu," Akunum spoke sadly. He motioned to the upper corners of the rooms. There were cameras there. "We are constantly watching him, making sure that he doesn't harm himself, but so far that is all we have been able to do." The man ran his fingers over his eyes, looking embarrassed and tired. "He won't wear clothing, he doesn't even… clean after himself."

Yugi shook his head. "He doesn't remember anything. He probably has muscle memory still, so he does know how to walk and do similar tasks, but everything else is beyond his understanding at the moment." The young man dropped his bag to the floor and looked at the elder man. "Mind I step into to his section of the room? I would like to examine him to see if this is really forced possession."

"Do you think it's wise? He has attacked many of the servants, we have to physically restrain him when ever the servants need to clean… after him," the elder man frowned.

"It's alright, I'm sure I'll be fine," Yugi smiled. "I've dealt with one like him before."

After moment of hesitation, Akunum Sennen opened the cage to let Yugi inside. The boy inside hissed with dislike at the sight of Yugi entering his space. Yugi wasn't afraid, though. He knew how to restrain the youth if needed.

Akunum Sennen watched with fascination how Yugi's demeanour completely changed. The serious young man's expression softened and his eyes turned warm. "Hi there," the parapsychologist spoke softly to the wild youth. "There's no need to be afraid, I'm not going to harm you. My name is Yugi, Your father asked me to come here to see if I can help you…" the young man begun speaking with warm and gentle voice. The elder man's eyes widened as within minutes Atemu begun calming down, relaxing a little. There was still suspicion in his son's red eyes as the boy stared a Yugi, but he was definitely calmer than before - he certainly hadn't been this calm in someone's presence during the last month.

"The spirit probably can't understand anything I say," Yugi stepped again closer to Atemu, keeping his voice soft and his eyes on the possessed boy. It was as if he was speaking to the wild young man, but Akunum knew the words were directed to him. "Atemu can, though. He should still be able to hear me even though he isn't in the control of the body, that's often how it is with forced possession like this. If the spirit had possessed him willingly then I suspect the spirit would've also made sure that the host can't hear, but this spirit doesn't want to be here any more than you want him here. He might not even be aware of the another spirit inside the body he inhabits."

Yugi reached his hand out, keeping his palm up. "Now give me your hand. It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," the parapsychologist persuaded, still talking softly. The spirit in possession of Atemu's body stepped back slightly, frowning for a moment. When Yugi didn't move, still holding his hand up, the spirit hesitated. Then, much to Akunum's shock, the spirit took Yugi's hand carefully. "That's right, that's a good boy," Yugi smiled to the spirit, nodding to him while gently rubbing the back of Atemu's palm with his thumb.

Then Yugi slowly kneeled to the floor. "Come, sit with me," the young man coaxed the spirit gently. "It's alright, we're just sitting here." After hesitating a moment, the spirit sat down again, looking at the parapsychologist with confused curiosity. "Good boy. Isn't that better? We have no hurry anywhere, we can just sit here calmly like this," Yugi smiled and nodded to the spirit. "If you act like something is wrong around him, that is the impression he will get. He can't understand speech, but he can understand tones of voices, expressions and actions. If you yell at him, glare at him and force him down, he will of course take it badly. But if you speak softly, if you smile, if you act calmly and kindly…"

Akunum grimaced slightly, looking away. It made sense and he had never even thought about it.

"It's alright, I suspect everyone has been a little confused about this all," Yugi smiled to the now calmed spirit, who was staring down to their joined hands with fascination. "It isn't easy to stay calm with something like this, especially when a loved one is involved." He looked down to his and Atemu's hands too. He was still rubbing the back of Atemu's palm with his thumb and the spirit apparently didn't know what to make of it. "Poor boy, you don't know what this is?" he murmured. "Hasn't anyone touched you kindly? It's called caressing. I'm caressing your hand. Doesn't feel bad, hm?"

"He really is possessed by that liquid substance, then?" Akunum spoke, trying to not think about the fact that no one had been gentle to Atemu in the past month. They had all been so confused and it had really seemed that like all they could do was to make sure Atemu wouldn't harm himself.

"Yes. He has two souls inside his body," Yugi answered, smiling to the spirit as it tried to mimic the way Yugi was caressing his hand. "I can feel them both just when I touch his hand. Atemu's original soul is being suppressed under the other one, just as I suspected."

"And there is no way to free Atemu?" Akunum asked quietly.

"At this point the best you can hope is that Atemu and the spirit come into settlement and are able to co exist within the body," Yugi nodded to the spirit as it caressed his hand in return. "Yes, that's how you do it. Good boy," he nodded again. "Before such settlement can be made, though, the spirit must be made aware that he's not the only one in the body. Right now he is only aware of himself and thinks that what he is now is all he is."

"Was the other case like this? Had the spirit that possessed that other one forgotten everything as well?" Akunum asked.

"Yes. It took some time to make him understand but I was able to teach him. He even learned to speak. And eventually he allowed his host to have control again," Yugi glanced at Akunum. "It's the only way to go from here. Either that or to leave Atemu as he is now."

"The latter option is out of question," the man shook his head. "How long did you take with the first case?"

"About six months," Yugi answered. "But I still visit them now and then to make sure that nothing's wrong. The host has been teaching the spirit since they came into agreement and I'd like to think that they have improved greatly since then."

"And the host life returned to normal?"

"As normal as it can be in such situation," Yugi smiled. "Ryou, the host, is in high school right now, living as normally as he can."

Akunum nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Would you be willing to stay here and teach the spirit that possesses my son? Please. I want to be able to talk to Atemu again. I don't want him to spend the remainder of his life as prisoner of his own body."

Yugi looked at him and smiled. "I'd be happy to help."

* * *

Another story that dribbled to my brain recently. Idea of Atemu being possessed by spirit - Yami - who has no knowledge of anything whatsoever. Yugi, a parapsychologist, wound then uptake a duty of teaching the spirit and eventually making sure that Atemu and Yami can live in harmony. This idea might've worked better if I had reversd the roles and made Yami posses Yugi and made Atemu - or someone else - the parapsychologist... there would've been less oocness too. But this is the first version I wrote of the idea..

And I know his name is Akunumkanon, but it's kinda awkward, so I shortened it into Akunum.

My apologies for typos and errors and such...


	3. It came from outer space

**It came from outer space**

Yugi leaned back in his seat, looking up and into the screen which was made to look like it was actually a window. If he hadn't been enthralled by the sight he could see through the said screen, he would've shaken his head in amusement at his people's needs to make everything seem something that it wasn't. But he was struck thoughtless by the scene the screen was showing him. The planet before him was like glowing blue pearl in the darkness of the space. Far more beautiful than he had expected.

He didn't even need to check the computer to know that there was life down there. Just the fact that most of the planet was either blue or hidden underneath white told him that there was life there. Blue meant water. White meant clouds. Clouds meant air. Air meant plants. And where there was plants, there was animals - usually anyway. That however did not tell him as much as he would've liked it to tell him. It didn't tell him what kind of air that air was and if he could even breathe it. It didn't tell if that water truly was water and not some kind of acid. There were other things it didn't tell him either - gravity levels for example was something good to know before stepping down to the planet. And of course he needed also to know what kind of life there was down there - intelligent life forms and all that rot.

But for now he just wanted to stare at the planet before him. Whilst there were some special and incredibly beautiful things in space, he didn't get to see them all that often. Most of the time all the space he saw was blurry stars flashing by as his ship tore through the space. Planets as beautiful as this one were rare sights to him.

Then the computer began peeping violently, warning of something. Flashing his eyes towards it, Yugi saw that it was the proximity alarm which warned him when ever there was space worthy technology around his ship. With a surprised blink, Yugi reached for the controls and with single button brought the threat's picture into the screen. The sight made him swallow a snicker. "What on universe is that?"

It was misshapen with strange angular wings and round plates attached to it. Chuckling he leaned forward and hit few keys to get his ship to scan the thing. Soon he had list of metals and materials used to make the… thing and a theory of what it did. There were no life forms inside it, but that wasn't surprising as it was very small. The 'wings' were actually collecting small amount of power from the rays of the near star and the plates were receiving and sending out radio waves. With little bit of working, Yugi got the thing's transmissions into the screen-window.

At first it was mess of strange symbols, moving images and noise. Cringing at it, Yugi quickly ordered the computer to clear the mess of data and make it comprehensible. As he watched the images and symbols separated from each other and the noise faded to the back ground. Soon his screen-window was covered in about hundred smaller screens. Blinking at them, Yugi picked one of them to come to the front and looked at it with confusion. There was creature very much like him in the screen, talking to another in language Yugi couldn't understand. After moment of trying to figure out what it as about of what was the purpose of it, he pushed it to the back and brought another one forth.

Soon he realised that the creatures of the world send the transmissions up to the winged thing which then spreaded them across the globe. Some kind of information spreading device maybe. It meant that there were intelligent people down there, who had some kind of technology - they could even go to space apparently. And they were surprisingly similar to him, but on the other hand that wasn't all that surprising. He had seen creatures like and unlike him before. These ones just came closer than the ones he had met before.

He still needed to find out about the air and the gravity and all that stuff which enabled life - to see if this planet would enable him to live in it. Turning from the console he moved to another and quickly send a small robot down to the planet in process he had repeated countless times. It would go through the atmosphere, down to the planet, and check everything he needed to know from elements to laws of nature.

Already as the robot was passing through the atmosphere it began to deliver data to him. First layer of the atmosphere was familiar to him. Most planets had it, the layer where atoms and molecules escaped to space. After passing this layer the robot began to quickly deliver more data. This layer was quite warm and there were hints of familiar atoms and molecules there. Apparently the place did have good old air, but this layer was too far from the surface to tell for sure.

As the second layer seemed to be quite thick, Yugi didn't stay waiting for the robot to. Instead he turned back to the screen. The winged thing had attracted the attention of his proximity alarms because it was in collision course with him, so he needed to move his ship out of the way. As he grabbed the controls and manually moved the ship, he wondered if the winged thing was only one or if there were more of them. As soon as the ship was out of the winged-thing's way, Yugi begun checking the space around the world.

"Okay, there are few of these things," he murmured. Hundreds, actually. On top of that there was larger construction orbiting the world. It was rather pitiful in comparison to some of the space stations Yugi was familiar with, but it was a space station nonetheless - there were even living beings inside. He couldn't help but chuckle at it and wonder how long it had been since his people had been in that lowly level of technology. He decided not to get near it, though. Not until he knew more about the people of this world.

Soon his little probe robot was sending in more data. In rabid fashion it passed though the third and the fourth levels of the atmosphere. In the fourth layer the robot send him the happy news. The place had ozone in its atmosphere, which meant that at least the world wasn't radioactive. It also meant that most of the planet's air was just that, air. Which meant that he would be able to breathe in the place. And after spending so long in a space ship, breathing recycled air over and over, some good old plant product air sounded wonderful.

The robot then was plunged into clouds and more good news ensued. The clouds were made of water and the pollution levels of the world were rather low - at least in comparison to those fully technological worlds where all plants had long ago died out and 'self made' air was only one their breathed. Yugi shuddered at the memory of those words. Being born and raised in plant filled world, he didn't like air which had been created by machine. It didn't smell or feel right.

The gravity and the radiation levels… the robot sent him only happy news. The planet was safe for Yugi. And after weeks of travelling towards the little planet, Yugi was certainly happy that he hadn't come all that way for nothing. There was one more thing which needed to be sorted out before he would even attempt going down there. And that was getting some information about the indigenous people. Sure, he had tapped into their information, but that did him little good since he couldn't even understand most of it.

Yugi sighed. This was the part he had mixed feelings with, even though he had done it dozens of times. He was naturally curious creature - which was part of the reason why he was travelling in the first place - but he was also very conscious one. He knew what kind of harm he could cause, and that this was the likeliest point where his presence would be detected. In the more advanced civilisations, people kept track of each other and if one went missing it was known very soon. Still… it was the only way for him to learn what he needed to learn. So, he didn't stop the robots programming as it headed towards the closest intelligent life form. When it would get to the said life form, it would dematerialise it, store it into the bank inside it, and then fly back to Yugi with the life form.

Of course, it would do no harm to the said life form. The being wouldn't even be awake - dematerialisation had the tendency of knocking people out. During the creature's unconscious state, Yugi would learn all he could and then sent him back. The being wouldn't even know that he had very been in Yugi's ship and Yugi would get the information he needed with no harm done. Still… he felt a bit dirty because of it, using people like that to his own advantage. But it couldn't be helped.

As the robot did its duty, Yugi stood up. He glanced over the screen and controls to see that everything was alright, and then headed out of the bridge. Walking pass the hall which lead to the living quarters and another where he stored most things he owned, he headed down to the hangar, pass it and towards the laboratory. While waiting for the robot to return his next specimen, he began to warm up the machines. He would only need two to learn all about the being who would soon make unwitting visit, but more than once his robot had somehow brought board a damaged creature - and once the whole dematerialisation process nearly killed one of his specimens. So, he brought everything in the lab online, just in case.

Once the small - but very efficient - laboratory was lit with glow of various screens and of course the operation table was shining its usual bright light, Yugi left the room. While heading back towards the hangar, he checked the machine wrapped around his left wrist. Even though he had charged the batteries of the thing just the previous day, it didn't hurt to check. It was very useful little thing, but also very easy to break - not to mention that the batteries were a bit old and needed changing. He didn't need it dying on him while he would be levitating his subject to the lab.

Just as he nodded with satisfaction, the hangar doors began to open. Before they did, bluish glow travelled over them in indication that the shield came online to prevent air from escaping. Folding his hands, Yugi waited patiently as his round probe robot flew inside through the shield and landed before him. While the doors begun to close again and the robot begun to shut down, Yugi walked towards it. It was still warm after exiting the atmosphere, but passing through the air-shield had cooled it down enough for Yugi to approach it. With a tap, Yugi opened a control panel at the robot's side and quickly ordered it to re-materialise his subject. With a soft wush-sound, it did so.

The subject materialised just beside Yugi. As the traveller looked at it with curiousness, it blinked once with confusion and then slumped down, unconscious. Clicking the probe's control panel shut again, Yugi turned to the subject and laid his left hand over it. Hitting few buttons in the wrist-machine, Yugi quickly engulfed his subject in bluish glow which originated from the machine. Then, as he raised his hand, the subject rose easily to the air, following it.

Refraining from making any theories yet, Yugi headed towards the laboratory with the subject levitating beside him. In the laboratory, Yugi directed the subject over the glowing table. As he deactivated the small shield which had been holding the creature, the being remained hovering over the table thanks to the table's own effects.

Now that the being was securely in the lab, Yugi stopped for a moment to look at it. He couldn't be sure, but he suspected that it was male. Females usually had mammary glands somewhere in their upper bodies, and his test subject didn't seem to have those. The scan would tell the being's gender for sure, though. Leaning forward, Yugi examined the creature's face. The structure was eerily similar to his own, almost exactly similar. The subject was darker skinned, and had slightly longer features than Yugi, whose face had always been a bit round. What drew most of Yugi's attention were the ears, though. They were round. Nothing like his pointed ones.

Spreading a glance to the subject's spiky hair, Yugi let his eyes wander over the clothing. They were very unlike his own. Yugi usually dressed into his black full body suit which covered all of him chin down. He wore it mostly because was very comfortable thing to wear and in space you never knew when you needed to get out of the ship to do some external repairs. With the suit all he needed to was to pull a helmet on and he was ready to go. This creature, though, seemed to have dressed in layers. There was some kind of jacket over another and the clothing covering his legs was separate from the jackets. And his foot-wear wasn't attacked to the fabric like Yugi's was.

Well, what the thing wore meant little. People in different parts of the universe had different ways of dressing up. Turning to the examination table's controls, quickly hit few buttons and started the scanning process. As the white of the table begun to emit reddish glow, a hologram appeared over the creature. First it was the bone structure, again very much similar to Yugi's. Then muscles, veins and all sorts of tissues began to slowly appear over the bones. Yugi nodded with satisfaction. It appeared that the creature was very much male. Very healthy one as well, there was practically no fat in the man's body.

After the skin had been grown into the hologram, Yugi took a small device which had been attached to the table by a thin tube, moved closer to the man. Sticking the needle of the device into the man's arm, Yugi quickly took the blood sample. It took the computer few seconds, but soon a hologram of the man's DNA appeared beside the hologram of his physique.

"You are _very_ much like me, aren't you?" Yugi murmured with nod. There were minor differences, but like said they were very minor. Essentially only thing which made them appear from different races was their ears. With a smile, Yugi turned to the machine which was right at the head of the table. There was only one thing left to do before he could send the man back to his world. Taking small electrodes attached to the machine, Yugi attached them to the man's temples and started the download procedure. Then he sat back to wait as the machine begun to download the man's every memory into itself for Yugi to view later.

It took good half an hour, but finally the machine gave signs of being ready. After unhooking the electrodes, Yugi moved back and grabbed a small hand held device from the table near by. Checking it quickly, he moved back to the man and pressed the device against the man neck. With a sharp click, a tiny transmitter chip lodged itself into the man's flesh. "Just something to remember me by," Yugi chuckled, pulling the device away. More than once after viewing his subjects' memories Yugi had found need to see them again, and the transmitter was pretty much the best way to find them.

With everything now done, Yugi surrounded the man in the hover shield again and took him back to the robot. Then he sent the robot back to the world to take the man back to the place where it had found him. With that done, Yugi rubbed his hands together and headed back to laboratory. It was time to view some memories.

* * *

After viewing the memories of his specimen, whose name had been Atemu, Yugi wondered what to do next. Currently he was sitting idly in the bridge, lazily surfing through the TV he had almost accidentally gained. Now he knew that the winged-thing was actually named satellite and that it was broadcasting something called channels to devices called televisions in the globe. It was a weird invention with strange purpose, and most of the 'shows' shown in the channels were strange, but apparently the people down in the world liked them. They also had some kind of overwhelming need to communicate with each other. TV was just the beginning. Apparently everyone down there had something called cell phone with which they could talk to almost anyone in the planet, as long as they too had a cell phone. They had also some strange need to immortalise themselves, constantly taking and making images and pictures.

But what worried Yugi most was how scattered their world was. Most of the worlds Yugi had visited were united, working as one people under one rule, but these people…. They had dozens of nations, languages, rulers and most of all, they had interplanetary wars. They had even had two so big wars that the entire world had been drawn into them. They even had something they called 'weapons of mass destruction', which wasn't exactly new concept to Yugi - he had seen weapons which were capable of wiping out entire planets… but still. The people down there had incredible amounts of prejudice and hate, they were constantly on each other's throat and apparently they believed in something as ridiculous as 'god', or at least most of them seemed to. And they did not believe in life outside their atmosphere, expect some rare few - and strange - but those were extremely minor part of the population. They were, simply put, frighteningly primitive society.

If Yugi could trust Atemu's thoughts - and he was pretty sure he could, Atemu seemed like sensible person - making contact with these people directly would be a bad idea. They would probably lock him - or try - in laboratory and cut him open. And confiscate his ship. Not a very nice prospect of possible future, yet… Yugi still wanted to go down there. For many reason. One of them was because of what the world looked like down there - if had looked very beautiful through Atemu's eyes. Other reason was Atemu himself.

Yugi sighed and ran his hand over his eyes. Then he chuckled sadly. One of his great weaknesses - not that he had all that many strengths, truth to be told - laid there. He always did the same thing, sent the robot to check the planet and bring up a specimen. Then he would scan the said specimen's physique and DNA to learn about the specimen's race after which he would download the memories. Then he would view those memories, all the way from first memories to the last.

The reason for the memory thing was because it was the best way to learn about the culture of the world. Sure he could've gone down there and examined the culture himself, but he would have alien's perspective on it and it would remain foreign and odd forever. Studying the planet from the perspective of a being who had lived all their life there gave much more information anyway. And the whole viewing process taught him most of the knowledge his specimen had - like languages, which was very important in case he wanted to live and survive down there.

But… there was the personal component as well. Through the memory viewing he did not only learn about the world and its cultures, but he learned to know his specimen. Right now he knew Atemu in levels no creature down in the world ever would. He had witnessed Atemu's childhood, teenage years, knew all the little facts of him which no one else knew - like what was the man's favourite fruit and why he didn't eat candy and just what side he preferred to sleep… Yugi even knew what toothpaste the man used!

Atemu didn't know it, but he was currently quite close to Yugi. Yugi knew that Atemu had grown up without a mother and had a cousin who was more like brother to him. He and his cousin Seth had been raised by their fathers, who were actual brothers. These two men had own a company, not overly successful one but it had sustained their lives well…

Until Seth's father had died. Alone, Atemu's father hadn't been able to keep the company going as well. He hadn't able to be good caretaker for Atemu and Seth either, but the boys had known that he had tried… but then a rival had appeared. A bigger company who had wanted to get the company of Atemu's father. Yugi's specimen had been barely fifteen when his father had lost the company and along with it most he owned. Atemu's father had even ended up in debts… and before three months had passed since, the man had killed himself. And because Atemu had been his father successor… he had inherited the debt.

Ever since then Atemu had been working to repay it with his cousin. It hadn't been easy because the company which had caused the debt had spreaded rumours of their family's unworthiness. The two of them hadn't been able to get proper jobs no matter how they had tried, and could only pay the debt little at the time. If their current pace continued, it would take them at least ten years before they would be free of the debt.

Yugi closed his eyes. Every planet and all the people in those planets… everyone had their problems. Still to this day he hadn't heard of stupider problems than those which sprouted from the thing called 'money'. Yugi had born in a world where concept of money had never been able to gain root, so he had never really seen the point in it even though he had countered it in many worlds. All it seemed to cause was problems and whole lot of greed. In his opinion best way for a planet to be was without money, without nations and with everyone thriving for single goal. In his world it had been the protection of their world and its nature, its culture and its creatures. Sadly, very few planets shared that kind of unity. And this planet, by the looks of it, would never be like his.

Poor Atemu and poor Seth, to have such problems. The prime reason why Yugi wanted to go down to the world before him, even with the risks involved, was because he wanted to help. He didn't know how but he still wanted to try. Not only because it felt like he had known Atemu all his life - or all of Atemu's life anyway. It was also because he had used the man to his own ends. Without knowing it, Atemu had taught him great deal. It was only fitting that Yugi would pay back in some way. But how?

After moment of pondering he decided to begin with the obvious. Going down to the world. But before that, he needed to find a way to blend in. If he would just walk looking like he did and dressed as he was, he would arouse suspicion. The ship would be easy enough to hide - this world didn't have the right technology to find it through its cloak of invisibility - but he himself wasn't. He needed to hide his ears and make right kind of clothing.

"Internet," he remembered the world wide web of information of this world. With an expression of determination, he turned to the control consoles. "Maybe I can access it here, via the satellite… I should find all I need to know from there…"

In the end the clothing were quite simple to make - especially thanks to the fact that he had a technology which enabled him to create wide range of things from practically nothing. Before soon he had his ears hidden underneath a hat and had pulled black pants and short black jacked over his full body suit - and since his footwear resembled greatly boot variety of footwear of Earth, he didn't need to change them. After the issue of his clothing was settled, he cloaked his ship in invisibility and directed it to the planet.

* * *

After landing and hiding his ship in bottom of a small lake, Yugi headed towards the town where Atemu lived. He wasn't going to try and find the man just yet. He wanted to look around and figure a way to help the man - possibly without letting him or anyone else know that he wasn't exactly from around here.

Chuckling he walked down a random street and looked around with curiosity. The architecture was strange in comparison some of the buildings he had seen in other worlds, but it seemed to serve it's purpose here. He couldn't help but feel a little sad for the soil, though. It was nearly covered in some kind of stone-like material all around. Even though there were planted threes here and there, they were few and far apart. But then again, cities in many worlds were like that. For some reason many races wanted to walk straight paths, instead of feeling the roughness of soil underneath their feet.

As he wondered what to do and where to go, he continued to walk down the streets. The people he passed by barely looked at him, so apparently the clothing he had made for himself were suitable. Few elderly females did give him strange looks, though, making him wonder if black was a colour rarely used here. It couldn't be helped though, he was prohibited from wearing anything other but black thanks to the status he had in his home world.

Suddenly a sound of grunt caught his attention. It sounded pained and Yugi's inborn senses to protect were brought forward. Quickly looking around, he didn't saw the source of the noise, but he could hear it. Heading towards it, he was lead into smaller street - back alley - near the street he had been walking. There he saw two men, one tall with black hair and other slightly shorter with blonde hair. Both were dressed into similar clothing - school uniforms Atemu's knowledge supplied him with the information.

Almost instinctively Yugi rushed forward. His hand flashed to his wrist and searched for the one button he needed in these kinds of situations. Underneath his new clothing, his full body suit grew a slightly harder and tighter against his skin. Then he had already stepped between the two to take the blow meant for the blond haired human. The balled fist was directed at his midsection and Yugi wasn't sure if the attacker even noticed his appearance. He didn't even flinch as the knuckles came into contact with him, not even when a sickening crunch echoed in the back street

"What?!" the tall man yelled with surprise, quickly pulling his now broken and bloodied hand away. Looking at the broken knuckles the man was quiet for a moment before yelling out in pain grapping a hold of his arm. As the man pressed his eyes tightly shut as if to shelter himself from the pain, Yugi wasted no time turning around, grapping the blonde man to his arms and quickly running away from the attacker. Normally he wouldn't have been able to lift the man, but right now his suit was taking most of the man's weight.

Once they were few blocks away from the attacker, Yugi quickly lowered the beaten blonde to the ground. The man - young man, teenager even - was still conscious, but only barely. Without bothering to consider that he was risking his so-caller disguise, Yugi polled his jacked sleeve up and worked a bit with the wrist computer. Then he placed the back of his palm against the blonde's chest. To his cloth-covered palm a small hologram appeared, showing the inside of the blonde's rip cage. Quickly running the hand over the man, causing the hologram shift with it, Yugi learned that the teen had suffered bruising but nothing more.

"Who the hell…?" the blonde asked weakly, looking at Yugi with confusion. The sentence ended in wince and small amount of blood trailed down from the blonde's cut lip.

"My name is Yugi," the traveller answered in the language he had learned from Atemu's memories, shutting down scanner by pressing his hand into fist. "I heard you being attached and thought you might need some help. How are you feeling?"

"Like I just got beat?" The blonde asked with strange crooked grin - sarcasm, perhaps. "You just heard me and decided to help? People actually do that? And what kind of name is Yugi?"

"It's my name," Yugi answered with a worried look. "Did I do something wrong by helping you? Should I have left you --?"

"No no, I'm grateful," the blonde quickly said, rising his hand and wiping the blood from his chin. "Very grateful. It's just… who helps a stranger just out of the blue, you know?" he looked at his now bloodied hand. "Damn… that bastard really got me too. Help me up, will ya?"

Yugi nodded and quickly took the young man's hand to help him stand. The blonde seemed surprised to find that Yugi barely reached his shoulder. "You're short!" the blonde exclaimed. "How can you be that strong when you're this short? You look kinda whimpy too -- erm, sorry. Didn't mean to say that aloud," the blonde coughed before Yugi could answer. "Anyway, my name is Jono. I think we should get further away from that bastard before he catches us."

"Maybe," Yugi nodded, though he suspected the attacker was more interested about his broken hand than about chasing them. As Jono moved to leave, Yugi noticed that he was careful about lowering weight to his left foot. The young man didn't seem too pained about it, so it probably wasn't broken. Yet, it wasn't in Yugi's nature just to dismiss things like that. "Is your foot alright?" he asked worriedly, following the blonde.

"Yeah, yeah, just sprained. I'll be better in no time," the blonde assured with lopsided grin. "So. You don't look like someone from around here…" Jono looked at him curiously.

Figuring that he probably looked a bit foreign to the tanned blonde, Yugi smiled. "I'm just passing through, I think."

"Oh? So, you're gonna leave soon?" Jono looked a bit disappointed, which made Yugi look curious. "Ah, it's just that I hoped to, I dunno, pay you back for helping me. I don't think I can even remember the last time someone helped me so…" the blonde blushed a bit. "You know, that kinda things don't happen often, so… I thought it would be right."

"Well, I thank you for the thought, you don't need to do that," Yugi smiled. The blonde was surprisingly nice, in awkward way. "And I am going to stay here for a little while, maybe. There is something I want to try doing, and it might take a while."

Jono brightened a bit. "Alright! I'll, um…" he looked at Yugi thoughtfully, looking him from head to toe. "Hm… I'll take you to coffee! Yeah, that's right, I'll take you to coffee as thanks for saving my butt!"

Coffee? That bitter drink Seth drank which Atemu didn't like? Yugi blinked. "It's alright, you don't need to."

"No, no, I want to," the blonde nodded. "Besides it's less likely that the bastard will follow us to a café, right? So… let's go! There should be one near by, nice one too if I remember correctly… maybe I could use the bathroom to clean myself up too." Then, ignoring Yugi's protests, the blonde begun to lead him away from the back alleys and into the streets and there towards a small café. In the said café, Jono instructed Yugi to find a seat while the blonde went to clean himself up.

Yugi sighed while he took seat. Well, it wasn't like had a plan or place to go anyway and Jono seemed nice enough. Also, Yugi was minutely interested about why the blonde had been getting beaten in the back alley. The knowledge gained from Atemu told Yugi that Jono was in high-school school and the larger teenager hurting him was in the same school - they wore the same school uniform. Yugi could understand the concept of schools - the facility where he had learned had been much like schools here - but who would two students fight like that? Didn't they have same goals; weren't they learning as equals like students were supposed to?

Soon Jono returned with slightly cleaner face and damp hair surrounding his face. "At least I'm not going to have a black eye," the blonde grumped while sitting down. "So… what would you like?" he asked almost eagerly.

"Um…" Yugi, who had no idea what the things served here tasted like, hesitated. "You really don't need to get me anything -" he quickly raised his hand before the blond would begin to argue. "But if you're so persistent about it, I'll take whatever you think is good."

"You sure?" the blonde asked suspiciously. "I don't think my tastes match yours."

"Yes, I'm sure," Yugi nodded with amusement. It wasn't like he had preferences anyway. As Jono walked to the counter to get them something, Yugi glanced around in the café. There were few people there, elderly man reading a newspaper, three young women chatting lightly near the window and pair of elder women discussing something over their steaming drinks. After what Yugi had learned about this place's wars and violence, this place seemed surprisingly calm.

"Here we go," Jono said happily while returning with tray of two cups and two slices of some kind of food. "Hot chocolate and pizza. These are yours -" the blonde handed one cup and one slice to Yugi. "And these are mine."

"Hm," Yugi leaned forward to examine the items. The hot chocolate was just as brown as Atemu's memories had told him. According to those memories, it was a sweet warm drink, but memories rarely included clear tastes so Yugi wasn't completely sure how it tasted like. While taking the cup cautiously to his hand, he looked up to Jono. "So… you're in high school, right?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah," the blonde nodded.

"And the one who attached you…?"

"Student from higher year. Bastard. Enough said," the blonde's muttered a bit sullenly, blowing to his chocolate to try to cool it down. "I'm not that well liked in certain circles here. Punks like me rarely are."

Again Atemu's memories supplied Yugi with idea of what a 'punk' was like. "You don't seem very punk-like to me," he said carefully.

"Well I am. It doesn't matter," Jono shook his head and took a careful sip of his warm drink. Then he looked up to Yugi. "You said that you had something to do here…" he said, clearly wanting to change the subject. Yugi frowned a little but complied. Apparently his school-life was not easy subject for Jono.

"Yes. There is a person who lives here. He unwittingly helped me a great deal and I want to pay him back," turning to look at his drink, Yugi sighed. "But I'm not sure if I can do it, though…" money wasn't something he could deal with, let alone make.

"Well… maybe I can help you out. What do you want to do to him? Get a gift for him?" Jono looked confused. "That shouldn't be too hard…"

"Ah, no. Nothing that easy. He is in… financial bind," Yugi grimaced. "In debts. I want to help him with them, but… I don't really have money. Nor a way to make any."

"Hmm… that would be difficult," Jono frowned. "Getting a job would be the simplest way to get money --" he stopped at Yugi's grimace. "Okay, not a job then. Um… I dunno much about making money myself, but my teacher tells that the best way of doing money is doing something you like to do, something you can do… or something like that. Is there something you're good at?"

Yugi frowned a little. Back in his planet he was forest guard - he had looked after one of the ancient forests and made sure that nothing happened to it and that the animals in it acted right. Every single species in his planet was a precious and cared for, their numbers carefully monitored. Yugi's job had mostly been keeping an eye out and making sure that carnivores didn't eat too many herbivores and that herbivores didn't grow too large in numbers - because the more there was them the more they ate and plants were held sacred too…

But that had been long ago. He hadn't been forest guard in years. Now days he was more like private explorer, travelling from planet to planet and creating a databank of all possible life forms he encountered. He was pretty good with plants and animals generally, but couldn't see how he could make that accursed money with it. He was also somewhat good with machines… This he said aloud.

"Machines how? Like, you can work with computers or repair cars, or…?" Jono prodded.

"Well," Yugi hesitated. "I guess I know about technology you don't see around here. Um…" how he could explain knowledge of technology light years ahead of what they had in this small planet? He couldn't. So he needed to come up with a lie. "Things which haven't officially been invented yet, maybe?" he wasn't satisfied with that explanation.

"Like… secret stuff? The things governments make and then deny their existence?" Jono asked curiously and leaned forward. "Are you like secret agent? FBI or something?"

"What? No!" Yugi laughed. "Nothing like that. Um… how should I put it…" he tried but couldn't make up a believable explanation. With a sigh he just shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

Jono looked at him thoughtfully. "Maybe like… you've invented something?" he asked carefully.

Yugi opened his mouth to disagree before closing it. He had made most of the little technology in his ship - the ship itself had been made in his home planet, but the laboratory, the probe robot… they were most of amalgamation of various technologies he had encountered in his travels. It wasn't like he himself was all that good with technology, but his computers were.

"Yeah, something like that," Yugi admitted.

"Well… I guess that's something," Jono took his pizza slice to his hand and took a bite out of it. "Would people want these thinks you've made?"

He couldn't exactly give these primitive people his technology - most of it was very delicate and potentially dangerous, but maybe… something they couldn't do anything harmful with. If the so called moving pictures, which were actually just showing many pictures in rabid fashion so that it seemed like they were moving, was the peak of the image technology around here… then hologram technology would probably be appreciated around here.

"Maybe…" Yugi said thoughtfully.

"Well then, maybe you can try something like getting a patent or something. I don't know how it works with these invention things, though," Jono said.

"Hmm…" Yugi nodded thoughtfully. With Atemu's memories and knowledge swimming in his mind, he knew that best way of going about this was to create a company and not just hand over the technology to someone else. If he was in charge of production and development himself then he alone got the profit also. But creating a company wouldn't be easy. He needed money to do it, money, resources, people… identity. The identity part would be especially tough.

Then he got an idea. "What is the most precious alloy?" Yugi asked, surprising the teen.

"Ah, what?" Jono asked with confusion.

"What is the most precious alloy?" the traveller repeated.

The teen looked at him like he had said something very weird. "Uh… gold? Or maybe platinum? Though I think things like diamonds are more expensive…"

"Diamonds?" Yugi murmured and quickly Atemu's memories supplied explanation. Allotrope of carbon… it was that same stuff from which his ships shell was derived from? The coating wasn't exactly the same substance, but it was very close artificial imitation. Easy to create and very handy since it was practically indestructible. Atemu's memories told him that here diamonds were largely used in jewellery, though. "Diamonds, huh?" Yugi smiled. It would be very easy to make few diamonds with his machines. With them he could then fund a possible company… though he needed to get some sort of identity first.

"Thank you Jono," Yugi smiled. "You've been a great help."

"You're welcome, I guess. By the way, why are you wearing gloves inside?" Jono asked, looking at his fabric covered fingers

As Yugi begun to accumulate appropriate explanation, he never stopped to think that just the diamonds would've been more than enough.

* * *

Okay, this was written a while ago when I had some weird scifi boom going on (it's still going on, I'm still itching to write Yugioh mecha story for some weird reason, and maybe some cyper-punk stuff...) I just dusted this off and decided to share it because I like the idea behind it. Sort of anyway. my apologies for possible typos and grammar errors and such.


	4. Xenium

**Xenium**

Something was wrong.

"…In a way I was expecting this. Only I and Yugi's mother still remember it, but until he was eight years old, there wasn't all that much… colour in Yugi. His eyes were light grey and his skin was pale, almost white. He was born with hair, some children are, but his hair was strange. Pitch black from the back and pure white from the front…

"In the beginning Yugi was very quiet too. He was born without a sound and didn't cry even after wards. The doctors thought there was something wrong with him when he didn't cry out, they expected that he would die maybe within the first day… but Yugi didn't. There was nothing wrong with him other than the fact that he wouldn't make a sound.

"He was quiet when he grew up too. We seriously thought that there was something wrong with his mind - that maybe he was slightly challenged. But he could understand everything just like any other child good. If you asked him to do something he would do it - and if you asked a question he would answer. He could function but he seemed to have no… personality what so ever. He never cried and never laughed. The calmness was almost… eerie.

"Then we gave the Puzzle to him. He started getting colour some time after that. His pale skin got pinkish tint to it before starting to darken to your normal skin colour. By the time he was nine his grey eyes had a bluish tint to them and his formerly white bangs were more like platinum. At ten years of age they were palest yellow, his bangs, and we could see slight tint of red in his hair… at twelve the formerly black part of his hair was more like purple and his bangs were golden. His eyes turned bright amethyst…

"He also started to feel. He was nine when we heard him laugh for he first time - he was playing some game I think. He cried for the first time when he was ten and someone bullied him at his school. He started to develop likes and dislikes - took a liking to games and hamburgers…

"We though nothing of it. Maybe he was just a late bloomer. He was so small for his age too, so maybe his development was a bit slower than others. We were just happy that he was getting better, becoming his own person… we never thought…"

Everyone knew that something was wrong.

"Yugi was the happiest when the Puzzle got solved, now that I think about it. I knew him from preschool, but he started to really be happy and carefree after he solved the Puzzle and started to wear it around his neck. I thought that it was because of Jonouchi and Honda and Bakura - because he had more friends now and not just me. I was just happy for him, he had always been a little quiet and a little sad so seeing him so happy was nice.

"He turned stronger too. Everyone could see it, but I know just how strong he became. He was so weak back in preschool. Before he solved the Puzzle. He hunched his shoulders and hid from people, tried to melt into the backgrounds. He was afraid of everyone and everything, probably because he was bullied. Tried to never get into anyone's bad side…

"He started standing up straighter when he solved the Puzzle. In the beginning he did hunch a bit, but his shoulders started to straighten some months afterwards. He smiled more often and his eyes gained this strong light that wasn't there before. He laughed a lot too. Then he began gaining this wisdom and strength of mind he lacked before. He started… become knowledgeable. Or maybe he was like that before, but now he was showing it. He advised people, didn't hide his knowledge anymore, didn't hold himself back…

"That sort of thing is normal for most people, but not for Yugi. In comparison to what he was before, he became so strong. I was so happy for him, happy that he was gaining strength. We all knew why it was happening though. Because Yami was there, looking after Yugi's back, offering him his protectiveness and all that… with someone like that looking after them, anyone would've gained some confidence. So it was nothing surprising or miraculous. It was almost natural.

"I never imagined just how deep that _'because of Yami'_ was… how much it meant and what wealth of meaning it had…"

Everyone could see it.

"When Yami left for the after world, everything was fine for a while. Yugi was a little sad and little depressed, but it made sense. He still had friends and all that, but Yami… Yami was Yugi's closest friend. Yugi could never lean onto us or trust us like he trusted Yami - but it's no wonder really. They shared a body after all. They lived beside each other's souls. Of course they would become closer to each other than to anyone else like that.

"We gave Yugi time he needed. Some weeks or maybe months, so that he could gather himself and overcome the loss. We knew that he could never stop missing Yami, that he would probably always feel the absence. But Yugi had a strong heart so we expected him to eventually bounce back and move on. It was Yugi after all. It's what Yugi did.

"But he didn't. At least not the way we expected him to. When he came out from the depression he was a little different… little frayed and maybe a little quiet. We thought we understood. We tried to distract him, entertain him, make him move on, make him happy again. When he smiled there was sadness in it and his eyes were always a bit distant as if he was always looking further than to us, looking for something else… We thought we understood. We thought it would just take time.

"When he stopped laughing we started to think that something was wrong. When he stopped smiling we knew something was wrong."

They knew the reason and the cause.

"I tried to make him angry, make him react. He seemed so empty, my pal did. I tried to make him flare again, tried to bring out the warmth he had before. Even if with anger, it would be fine as long as I got my buddy back. But he wouldn't react. I taunted and teased him, I even hit him once but he didn't react anymore.

"Year after Yami left, Yugi turned kinda empty. The light in his eyes just died out and there was no spirit left. He kept staring at nothing like trying to see something that just wasn't there. It was creepy. And nothing we tried to do made any difference. He was sorta broken and we didn't know how to fix him. Yami's going away broke him badly and we couldn't make it right again.

"When his skin started to turn pale, we thought that he had gotten sick. Someone said once that mental trauma and stress and all that can affect the body, we through that Yugi was reacting like that. That he was crashing down with the lost or something. But other than the pale skin, he didn't seem all that sick. He was paler and paler but he didn't seem physically weak or anything. It was kinda weird.

"When his bangs started turning lighter, we knew that it wasn't just physical. We knew that something else was going on too. And we didn't know how to stop it."

They knew but they couldn't do anything about it.

"Two years after Yami left, Yugi's bangs turned completely white. The darker part of his hair on other hand turned black. In comparison to what he had once looked… some people thought he had dyed his hair or something like that. But we knew better, it happened so gradually and slowly that it was almost natural. Except it wasn't. It couldn't be.

"It too us a while to notice that his eyes had lost their colour too. Slowly they had turned colourless and grey. Sometimes they look like they're silver when light hits them right, and it's quite peculiar to look at. His eyes were always so expressive and warm, there was always a strange light in them. But now they reflected the light and we couldn't see into his soul anymore. If person's eyes are the windows to his soul, Yugi's eyes turned into mirrors.

"The strangest thing about it all was that he didn't feel like Yugi anymore. He still knew the things Yugi knows, occasionally thought the way Yugi thinks. But he didn't… feel like Yugi anymore. He didn't react like he did and the strange understanding he had once had was gone. He was like doll that resembled Yugi - though he didn't resample him too much anymore. With his hair and skin and eyes being like they are… he looks like colourless imitation of Yugi.

"We thought that the worst thing about it all was the fact that he was so unhappy, so sad all the time. That made it the most difficult to bear in those two first year - it was painful just to look at him and his empty eyes. We thought that it couldn't get worse than the heart break he had suffered, which had seemingly broken him badly…

"But three years after Yami left, Yugi stopped being heartbroken. He stopped feeling sadness. But that time… he didn't feel anything at all."

Nothing they did could stop it.

"It was pathetic to watch. He turned into this mechanical doll without expressions or opinions. If you told him to do something he did it without ever bothering to think if he should or should not do it. If someone had told him to jump of a cliff, I swear he would've done it. I guess that's why the dorks ever left him alone. There was always someone at his side, making sure that he wouldn't get himself killed. Good thing, properly… though I can't help but think if he would've been better off dead. He wasn't exactly alive the way he was."

It didn't stop them from trying no matter how futile it was.

"They called us about four years after the pharaoh left. There was something wrong with Yugi and they couldn't handle it themselves. I'm not sure what I thought about it, but the reality ended up being more frightening. The first time I saw Yugi Mutou after those four years I couldn't help but think one word to describe him and his state. Soulless.

"He didn't greet us even after such a long absence. Didn't get up and smile at us, didn't welcome us to his home. He didn't even look at us, just stared ahead with empty silver eyes that seemed to see nothing. He had changed so very much but that look in his eyes, that horrible absence of emotion… that was the biggest change.

"When we checked over him to see what was wrong, he didn't rect. He barely even winced when I pinched him and his reflexes were slow and dull. He did everything we told him to - even went as far as stand on his hands in the middle of the room at our order - but he seemed have no opinion about anything. If we asked something he would answer, but the answers were dull and emotionless, without hint of personal opinion.

"It was during this check-up when we noticed that the collar around his neck couldn't be removed. The leather of it was a single piece, there was so beginning or end, and the buckle looked more like decoration than actual device. Yugi's friends hadn't though anything about it - the collar had always been there after all - but I couldn't help but think that there was significance in it. It had obviously been clasped to his neck by magical means.

"I was thinking about cutting the leather and taking the collar off - maybe it would bring Yugi out of this strange spell he was under. But then Yugi's friends told me something. The collar had appeared with the pharaoh - Yugi hadn't worn it before. Maybe the pharaoh had left is as a memento?

"Or maybe… as a signature."

Eventually they started to understand he seriousness of it.

"Yugi Mutou does not have a soul. It's obvious when you look at him - what ever spirit there is in him has long since left him. He's nothing but empty shell now. Everyone around him, those that know and love him, have started to realise what is going on and what is the cause. They don't word it, do not dare to speak of it, but they have started to understand it. Yugi Mutou does no have a soul. He never probably had.

"He was born, created, with a single purpose and that was to be the pharaoh's host. To host the pharaoh's soul in his body was the only reason for his existence. I'm not sure if the pharaoh himself realised this, though. It could be that in the time this empty shell used attempting to solve the Millennium Puzzle, pieces of the pharaoh's own soul shifted to the boy, giving him a make-belief soul and personality. It was much, but it was enough to fool everyone.

"Without the Puzzle, those pieces of the pharaoh's soul have faded away. This left Yugi the way he was in the beginning - empty and plank like canvas waiting to be painted. He is merely a body now - with enough function to do what's asked and speak when spoken to, but all one needs for that is a brain. You need soul to feel and react and that is what he lacks.

"He is not Yugi Mutou as we knew him. But then again, that boy was merely an illusion created by pharaoh. Possibly the strongest illusion ever created, one that even fooled the illusionist himself. But it makes one wonder. If Yugi was born to serve as the pharaoh's host… someone must've been behind his creation. Was it the will of the gods that Yugi Mutou would be born the way he was and with the destiny he had?

"One thing we know is that what soul Yugi ever had has gone to the afterlife. What is left is merely an empty shell."

There was nothing that could be done.

"But if he doesn't have a soul, why can he still move around, finish tasks, understand what we speak and speak back to us when we ask something? If he truly were a soulless body, wouldn't he be unmoving, as if in coma? If he has served his purpose… why does he still exist?"

--

**Xenium**: A present given to a guest or stranger, or to a foreign ambassador.

Monologues came from Sukoroku, Anzu, Honda, Jonouchi, Ryou, Kaiba, Malik, Ishizu and Mokuba in that order, though they were supposed to be anonymous. This is one of... MANY ideas I have under construction but at this moment it looks like it isn't continuing - at least not right now. The idea was something along the line of Yugi being a soulless body created for Yami's use. Yugi's original creator was Atemu who sort of set the whole thing into motion thousands of years ago and made sure that Yugi would be born so that Yami would have body to work in. But when Yami is done and moves on, he leaves a marker to Yugi (the collar) which enables Atemu from past/another world summon Yugi because the collar marks Yugi s Atemu/Yami's possession. The whole idea was a bit messy but I liked how the prologue turned out.

My apologies for possible grammar errors and such.


	5. Horror

**Horror**

There are days when Atemu hated Jonouchi for living in such neighbourhood. Days when he would visit his friend for some reason or another - when the elder Jonouchi wasn't there of course - and then end up staying too long. When he would be forced to head out into the nightly city, into that dangerous neighbourhood which was dozen times more threatening during night than it was during day… he hated his best friend for living there.

It wasn't like it happened often - rare were the days when his friend's father wasn't there and Jonouchi had the house for himself. Most of the time Atemu didn't think about it at all - and it wasn't like Atemu was helpless. But when he was forced to those streets during the darker hours, into the winy alleyways where the lights of the street lamps didn't quite reach… he was often reminded of his mortality. He wasn't a weakling, in his school he stood up for himself quite well, but that didn't make him exactly tough person. He didn't carry weapons on him, he knew no martial arts and he had barely any means of self defence. And in those streets, running into gang members and drug dealers and other scum that prowled those dark streets at night, he would've needed them.

He hated it not because of the danger - though it was often in his mind whenever he was forced out there in that time. Danger he could deal with, danger he could handle. It wasn't the fear of pain either. It was the annoying certainty of his weakness that seemed to assault him when he couldn't quite see ahead and never know what exactly was behind him. The shiver running over his spine when he heard a noise and couldn't find its origin, the shiver that seemed to remind him of just how open his back was… he hated it. He hated feeling and knowing just how defenceless he was.

Atemu knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that everyone would've felt something akin to what he did. Very few had any more capability for defence than he did. Most people lacked any means of self defence and some of them were as aware of it as he was… but it helped not. When he walked down the streets during the day, when there was someone there with him he could ignore it, he could almost pretend that he wasn't as weak as everyone else. But night allowed him no denial, no ignorance. In night and in those streets he was aware no matter how he hated it.

Like this night. He had been visiting Jonouchi so that they could finish their school project together - some stupid biology assignment that didn't seem as important now as it had back then. The night had fallen before he had noticed and now he was heading home alone, in those damn streets. So far he hadn't encountered anyone and for that he was relieved - but he still felt helpless. And his neck was itching - as if someone's stare had been pouring right into the weak spot between his vertebras. He was intensely aware of just how fragile his spinal cord was - and how easily it was damaged.

It made him wish that he had brought his book pack. He usually carried it in his hand, but these moments made him easily by pass his usual habits and hoist the thing to his back. It would've offered some protection at least, made his back seem little less open and vulnerable.

When he heard steps, he tried not to jump - or run. While all his survival instincts suggested that making hasty exit would be a good idea, he tried to think it logically and calmly. It could be just someone like him who without a better choice walked these alleys only to get out of them. Just a normal person who just had ventured out at night, nothing more dangerous than that.

The thoughts didn't stop Atemu from speeding up his steps slightly. The sound of his striding echoed from the walls of the buildings around him. In the same time the space around him seemed to shrink and swell - the street seemed to lengthen even while the walls started to close in on him. He swallowed and hoped that the action wasn't audible. He still had lot to walk before he got out of the damn alley, and he was painfully aware of just how long it would take him to cross that distance.

The steps he could hear, steps coming from behind him, seemed to speed up as well. Only his pride, whatever was left of it, kept him from setting out to dead run. He reminded himself of who he was and how he was supposed to act. He was no weakling that ran away - he was Mutou Atemu! Not that it really meant much, but it meant enough. He did not run and he did not flee. That just wasn't his way… no matter how much he wanted it to be right then.

The steps got louder as they came closer. Atemu pressed his eyes tightly shut for a moment and opened them with a deep frown. Concentrating onto how much he hated feeling like this, he tried to ignore the fear that was urging him to speed his steps, to jog a little at least. His striding was fast now and his breathing was making his throat ache slightly. Running would've been lest energy consuming as such fast paced walking - but he wouldn't run. There was no reason to run, he told himself. After all, why would anyone be after him? Aside from some annoying school bullies he had set straight long time ago, he had no enemies.

Someone was watching him, he was sure of it. Someone was following him with their eyes as he walked. Was it the same one who was walking so close behind him? He hesitated but gave into his survival instincts, and glanced behind himself. As he suspected - feared - there was no one there. Continuing his walking, he bit his lower lip slightly and tried to distract himself from the fearful thoughts he didn't want to think. It didn't help much.

He nearly jumped when he felt a breath of warm air against his neck. His hand rouse to touch the said neck immediately, brushing over the skin once. Then he quickly tugged the collar of his jacket higher up, to cover the vulnerable neck. It was strange though, that little breeze. It had been warm… even though the late autumn air was otherwise cool.

Atemu shivered, his urge to run growing stronger. He hastily thought up a plan to make it look less lame. He raised his wrist as if to glance a watch - even though he had no wrist watch - and muttered a curse. "I'm late," he said to himself - and now, with the pretence of hurry up, he started to jog. He really wanted to get out of the alleys as soon as possible.

His heart almost jumped to his throat and right out of his mouth when the steps that followed him started to run as well. All the thoughts of pretence and pride flew out of window at that moment. Appearances be damned, Atemu had to get out of the accursed alleys and into the wider streets that had better lightning. He wanted there fast too, so the light jogging he had started turned into real run - and despite his previous thoughts he was glad he didn't have a book pack with him. It would've just slowed him down.

The steps following were like hasty drumbeat that foretold of danger - one that should be avoided by all means necessary. Atemu's breathing was harsh and hurt his throat, but he wouldn't slow down, only tried to run faster. When he saw the mouth of the alley and got the street lamps into his vision again, his chest bursted with relief. Almost there, he was almost there. And when he would get there he would be save, no one would attack him in the light…

When he passed the alley's edge and got to the wider street, the relief made him slow his steps down slightly. The fact that his each breath was a harsh, painful gasps and his sides were stinging painfully also demanded him to slow down. But the steps that followed him didn't.

Before Atemu could even gather enough strength to try and speed up again, hands took hold of him. One of them pressed against his mouth, another wrapped around his chest and easily he was dragged back to the alley before he could even try to fight back. His muffled scream of surprise and fear barely echoed in the street as the darkness of the alley behind him seemed to consume him.

--

Stupid titles ftw. Okay, there's a story behind it, it's not an interesting story, in fact it's stupid and clichéd and I wanted to do it just because I could. I got the idea when I read some Yugioh forum where people were saying how there are too many vampire-fics in Yugioh fandom - and how most of them sucked. I got this more or less arrogant idea that I could write a Yugioh vampire fic, make it original, interesting and, well, readable. I can be darn conceited at times.

Of course I failed at it. I sketched up a story and a background, even wrote two chaptes of it, but in the end I didn't like it too much. I got stuck not much after writing this piece... and in the end this part of the so called story is the only part I actually liked. My first concious attempt of writing horror. I think it turned out passable, even if it's a short little thing.

(The story's actual name was "Vile Existance" but this piece doesn't have much of the story in it, really)


	6. Zenith

**Zenith**

Seto Kaiba stared through the one-way window into a large room completely isolated from the rest of the world. In the middle of the room there was a machine that looked like some sort of horrible throne out of the mind of mad scientist. It was made of silver shaded metal with dozens, if not hundreds, of tubes leading into its bulky, half-sphere-like structure. In the top of it was what made it look like throne - a seat except it was a seat with restrains and strapping.

The seventeen year old swallowed, trying to ignore the scientists around him as he stared at the poor abused "king" sitting on that chair. It was a pale, thin and completely naked boy. He had been restrained by his wrists, arms, chest and neck - probably from his lower body too, but rest of him was hidden in the horrible machine. And his head was mostly covered in strange helmet that had wires and cords leading out of it. The way the boy lay on the chair made it seem like he was unconscious, but his lips were moving.

"This?" Seto finally said, swallowing the horror he couldn't help but feeling at the sight. "This is my father's so called great project?" he turned his eyes to the scientists. "A boy?"

"It's not just any boy, Mr. Kaiba," the leading scientist quickly assured, glancing at the machine and the boy strapped to it. "He is a very… special human being."

"Uhhuh. And how exactly is he special?" Seto narrowed his eyes, turning his eyes back to the window and to the boy in the machine. He had always known that his adoptive father's company had secrets - even on the outside it was shady. He had known that when he would finally get rid of his adopted father and get the company for himself, he would have to wade his through those dirty secrets… but he hadn't expected anything like this.

"The boy sees the future," the scientist whispered.

"What?" Seto snapped his eyes to the scientist with disbelief. "What idiocy are you sprouting? No one can see the future."

"This boy can," the scientists assured before quickly, enthusiastically, starting to explain. "He was found some eight years ago by your father, some time before you were adopted by the elder Mr. Kaiba. Elder Mr. Kaiba could immediately tell that there was something special in the boy so he hired some scientists and psychologist to have a look - it didn't take long for them to realise that the boy had a skill…"

"Stop," Seto snapped, already tired with the ridiculous story and unwilling to hear more. He closed his eyes, raising his hand to rub the bridge of his nose in hopes of stopping the headache from consuming all of his head. "Exactly where did my father find this boy?" he asked with annoyance.

"Ah… your father did not…"

"So he probably just kidnapped the boy," Seto murmured, looking up. "Just brilliant. Does the brat have a name?"

The scientist looked like they didn't know what to say to that, before someone quickly turned to one of the many computers that were apparently in charge of monitoring the boy. After moment of working with the computer, the scientist looked up. "In the beginning the boy called himself Yugi."

"In the beginning, huh? Hasn't called himself that since then, I guess. Exactly what did you do to this kid?" Seto glared at the scientist. "And what is that… thing?" he motioned wildly at the machine.

"It's keeping the boy's vitals stable. He had habit of going into fits in the beginning, eventually we were forced to restrain him. The machine takes care of his physical needs, monitors him, injects him with medicine when ever it's needed," the leading scientist explain it. "His heart rate, his vitals his brain waves are all carefully monitored by that machine - and through it," the man motioned at the computes, "by us."

"Uhhuh," Seto murmured flatly. "The helmet is monitoring his brainwaves when?"

"It also works as a sort of visual interface. That way we can easily implant suggestions to his mind."

"Implant… suggestions…" Seto repeated, his headache quickly growing and his patience slipping. "And exactly why do you do that?"

"To manipulate his ability to foresee. That way we can decide what he sees about what. Your father had many uses for this talent, sir," the scientist assured almost proudly. "The boy could foretell the markets, even future such events as wars and conflicts. The boy's abilities are one of the reasons why your father was such a successful business man. The boy is the reason why he was always on step ahead of others - or, dare I say, many steps. I'm sure he will be useful to you too."

"Right…" the tall teen murmured, still staring at the pale, thin boy strapped to the machine. "Open the door to that room. I want to take a closer look at the boy."

With slight confusion the scientist did as he asked. Soon Seto stepped into the room of the machine monstrosity. There were stairs leading up and beside the boy, which Seto quickly took. The boy had seemed like ten year old child when he had looked at the boy from affair, but seeing the kid - Yugi - from up close made the brown haired teen realise that the kid wasn't that young. He was fourteen, or maybe fifteen - not much older than Seto's own brother.

The boy was mumbling something constantly. At first Seto couldn't tell what he was saying, but when he leaned closer he could make out some words. "… five and five tenths, five and six tenths …" the boy murmured before suddenly turning his head towards Seto, almost making the teen jump with surprise. Underneath the transparent screen covering the upper half of his face, the boy's eyes wide open and wild. "You're a dragon among men," the boy whispered to him with rasping tone. Then, as suddenly as he had moved, he turned his head back to its original position before starting to mumble numbers again.

Seto grimaced while looking over the boy's painfully thin form. Was the kid even sane after what these… scientists had done to him? His adoptive father had been a monster, he had always known that, but now he was starting to realise just how much of a monster the man had been.

"Get the kid down," he ordered the scientists who were watching him anxiously. The cold eyed teen smirked at their shocked faces. "And after that burn this room. In fact burn everything in this goddamn facility to the ground."

"But sir! Don't you realise how much money has gone to this project?!" the leading scientist cried. "Your father --"

"Is dead, buried, and in the past. All this is mine now - and it's useless to me. So. Get the brat down. Now," Seto ordered and stepped down from the machine.

After moment of hesitation the scientists stepped forward and begun freeing the boy from the machines. Seto watched the process with a frown, his hands folded and disgust veiling inside him. When the helmet was removed from the boy's head, he wasn't all that surprised to find that the boy's head had been shaved bald - and that there were angry red marks on his scalp from the electrodes. The kids entirely too wide eyes fell shut when the helmet was removed, and it almost looked like he had fallen asleep.

Once the scientist started removing the boy from the machine, Seto was forced to look away. The machine really had been looking after the boy's all physical needs and Seto really didn't want to think about the tubes that apparently had been taking care of the boy's urination and defecation. Thankfully the boy made no sound when the tubes were removed, even though Seto still could hear the process.

Soon enough the boy was carried down from the machine. When Seto turned his eyes back to him, the boy lay limp in the arms of the scientist, not even trying to stand up on his own. He was really a miserable sight. "Give me your coat," Seto ordered the nearest scientist and was immediately given a white lab coat. Without further ado, Seto threw it over the kid's bare form before gathering the thin boy to his arm.

"I will take the kid, and you will not even think about him after this. Now burn this facility. I want every bit of evidence of this project destroyed - and if you make copies or keep files, I will hunt you down and take everything you have," Seto glared at the scientists. "Get to work!" he then snapped before turning to the door and walking away from the horrible room.

Looking down to the thin child in his arms, the teen frowned with disgust. He had thought that his stepfather had been abusive with him, demanding the impossible from him. He had really been a fool. "I don't know you brat, and you don't know me," he murmured. "But don't worry. I'll try and make this right."

To Seto's surprise, the boy smiled. "A white dragon," he said softly.

-

**zenith** n : the point above the observer that is directly opposite the nadir on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected

I wrote this ages ago, but couldn't continue it and then I forgot it. I just stumbled upon it while glancing through some of my older yugioh ideas and decided to post it in the Deck.

The idea behind this was simple enough. I just wanted to write a slightly crazy Yugi who can see the future. From here the story would've progressed with Yugi living with the Kaiba brothers and trying to regain his sanity, maybe encountering Yami and others in some way... but I never managed to get that far. It ended up being a wee bit creepy though - and I feel really guilty for his hair for some reason.


	7. Broken unbreakable

**Broken unbreakable**

I don't know how long I've sat here, in this dirty little alley, beside these ancient trash cans that no one ever uses anymore. I've… lost count of time. I guess that tells much about my age. I'm getting too old to count the seconds, the minutes, the hours or even the days anymore. I've… lost count of the years too, even though I think I counted them once. I recorded everything, once. But when my memory became too full - and I couldn't bear to forget anything - some things had to be sacrifice to maintain overall function. So, recording time had lost its importance.

I think I've sat here for a very long time, though. I have hint of record of winters and summers. There have been tens of them, hundreds. I've been covered in snow, in water, in dust over the time, so the seasons must've passed. I can tell that the time has passed me by very easily, though. All I need to do is to look around. The trashcans were in good condition when I sat down. Now the rust has long since eaten through them and they're just breath away from collapsing. And when I look up, I can see buildings towering over me, tall enough to touch the sky… They weren't that high when I sat down. Technological development has continued without me, it must've taken years.

Time doesn't matter, though, nor does the advancements made. I don't care. All I care is the memories I have, precious data stored in my memory drives. Recordings of fake emotions and calculated expressions, of words heard by my microphones and images witnessed by my cameras. Recordings of myself and my masters… before they died. Before I was left behind. Memory of them stored inside me is all I have of them now. Memory… nothing else. How I pray it will never corrupt.

Mutou Yugi was what they called me. Man named Mutou Sugoroku gave me that name, he was my first master. He was old, kind, and sad. He named me after his grandson and always when he looked at me, he saw that boy. I was fashioned after him, after all, I was the copy of the human named Mutou Yugi. Sometimes I wished I could've met my namesake even once, but he died before I was ever even ordered. A speeder accident. He was sixteen years old.

But even though I never met the human named Mutou Yugi, I know what he looks like as I look exactly like him. I have his pale skin that doesn't tan easily. I have his slight frame and I never grow past his sixteen years. I have his hair - short wild hair of gold and dark magenta that always stays the same length. I have his face, soft, kind, childish and cute. I have his big eyes, shaded by wild purple. Once upon a time I even had his clothes, black leather with silver buckles… just like the human named Mutou Yugi.

I never fooled Sugoroku, though, not even at the very end of his life when his memory started to fail and his eyes started to betray him. Even though I was everything like that human who had once lived, he always knew I wasn't. Sometimes I wondered if I did something wrong, if I was lacking some mannerism, some personality quirk that human Mutou Yugi had possessed, but I never asked. Later I understood it a little better and knew it never mattered. Now I wonder why he did it. Why did he commission me at all?

At that time it was usual, ordinary even for humans to commission copies of their dead loved ones. I was one of hundreds and I was never bitter for what I was, for the reason I was created. It would've gone against my programming after all, but later, when I moved past the barrier of programming, I still wasn't bitter about being a copy of someone else. It's all I have that is _me,_ so I cherished it.

But I do wonder. Why did they commission us? I think that Sugoroku only felt pain when he looked at me. I was the mirage of the grandson he had loved, the technological ghost of a dead boy. Constant reminder of what he had lost. Why did humans… want a thing like that?

Sugoroku needed me, though. He was old and had human no relatives left. The human named Mutou Yugi had been the last one and when that boy had died, Sugoroku had been left alone. Sometimes I thought that he had me commissioned to keep him company, to take care of him when he got older. He needed it, a helping hand in stairs, around kitchen, during grocery shopping… and so forth. He couldn't do things like that alone. And in the last years of his life, he could no longer perform even simplest functions without aid. I was needed.

But sometimes I wonder if part of the reason for my existence is that he wanted some of his to live on. Or maybe he wanted world to remember the grandson he had lost? That human boy had been very important to him, but he had died and no one but Sugoroku had cared. No on but him, at least until I was created…

And now only I remember either Mutou Sugoroku or Mutou Yugi. I cherish those memories, that recollection, recording of events, that precious data. Only I have it. Only I know to treasure it. I had other masters too, of course, but Sugoroku and the human named Mutou Yugi were special, even if I only met one of them.

My next master called me Yugi too. Her name was Mazaki Anzu and when I met her, she was five years old. Her father had recently died and her mother was so busy with work that she couldn't look after Anzu by herself. So, when Sugoroku died and I was sold in auction like creations like me usually are, she bought me for Anzu. I was to watch after her, to guard her and to take care of her.

Anzu called me her friend. She was as humans once put it, a sweet child. Kind, happy always smiling and laughing. She liked plush toys and stories and often asked me to read fairytales for her. She didn't care for love stories when she was young, but she liked the ones with groups of heroes and friends. When she was young I read her often.

She grew up so fast. Now it feels like I had barely finished recording her favourite tales when she was already going to school. And then to another school, all the while growing so fast that she seemed to go from a little girl to a young woman in fraction of a second. It was… sad, I think. I liked the little girl my master had been. Not that the woman she became was in anyway a bad person, no, I liked her as well. But sometimes I… missed… reading fairytales.

Anzu took me with her when she moved out. She worked as a dancer and often I watched how she practiced dance moves. I used to make her lunches when she left to perform and sometimes I watched from the side when she danced to humans. I think she danced well. People seemed to like her enough. Some liked her more than others, and some she liked back. By her side I learned about the emotion called love and I respect that mysterious emotion even though I can't completely understand it, and even though all the men who spoke of it to her eventually left her.

She died too young. Forty four years, eight months and seventeen days after her birth - thirty nine years, five months and twenty eight days after she became my master - she died. It was a suicide. She terminated her life by taking overdose of drugs after sending me away so that I couldn't interfere. She was… depressed for some time for reasons I could never comprehend. It had something to do with the fact that she was infertile, I think. Also the stress of her career was bad, or so they said after her funeral.

Sometimes I wish she would've given me the chance to help her, to fix her. I would've, had I had the chance… but what did I understand of the problems of humans? My kind are created so I do not understand the joy of giving birth. My kind are created for purpose with the necessary talents to act upon that purpose, so I cannot comprehend the pressure of expectations and performance. I was created perfect for the task given to me, so I did not understand the concept of human flaws. Not back then anyway.

I learned later on, though. I realised that it wasn't about fixing her. Something's can't be fixed and sometimes humans don't even want to be fixed. I think Anzu had other things motivating her, other things that weighed upon her mind and heart, things she never shared with me or any human. Now I'm not even sure if I could've helped. Surely she would've asked me if she thought it was of use?

I miss her and I'm sad but she died peacefully and it was her choice. I still don't understand it, even after I gained emotions and griefs of my own, but… I hope she did right by herself.

After her death, I was passed back to her mother. She was my master only for a week or so before she sold me on, so I have allowed myself to forget her name. I think Anzu's mother didn't bear to look at me. I had been with Anzu for almost thirty years, after all. I was reminder, but unlike Sugoroku Anzu's mother didn't want to be reminded. So she sold me away.

My next master was a boy named Jonouchi Katsuya. His mother bought me for him when she and Katsuya's father separated. She didn't consider my third master's father fit for taking care of her son, mostly because the man had a drinking problem. I was to do with Katsuya the same I did with Anzu - but this time, I was to protect my master from his own family.

Katsuya was a… good master in his own way. Even in that situation, which obviously caused him pain and confusion, he was energetic and bright. At least in the beginning. In the first months I was with him, he was happy child, laughing and smiling… rather like Anzu. But as months went by and his father's drinking problem got worse, he darkened, stopped laughing as freely, stopped smiling as much.

I did everything I could, just like I was ordered to. I protected him from the bottles and cans his father threw at him when he was intoxicated. I stood between him and his father and took the blows meant for my master. I didn't mind. I don't feel pain and I was nearly indestructible, so it was never risky for me to do it. And every hit that man landed on me never landed on Katsuya, so it was alright.

But Katsuya watched most of it and I couldn't always protect him. I can't really understand the complete process human children go through when they grow, but they, like creations like me, record and assimilate. They learn. And Katsuya learned.

He was thirteen years old - and he had been my master for five years, one month and twelve days - when he ordered me to pack his things. He ran away that night and I followed him. Even then I knew it wasn't the wisest decision, but it was his to make and mine to follow, as he was my master. So I followed.

I followed him into the streets. I followed him through the random days of staying over at the houses of his friends and the colder nights when he had to stay outside. He continued to go to school for a while, but stopped eventually. He got into trouble, into fights, and so did I. At his side, I recorded the ways humans could hurt each other with their fists and feet and I assimilated it. We fought lot and foolishly, to protect his freedom in the streets. Eventually, we attracted attention of the local gangs. Katsuya joined. And I followed.

Katsuya made many bad choices during the time he was my master. For the gangs he associated with he stole and extorted. He was never good at it, but he gained air of ruthlessness and strength and a bad reputation. Now I feel sad for him for the choices he made and the things he did. He could've been different and he could've been better… but the situation rough on him. I never held it against him, though. I saw it all, after all. I knew he did the best he thought he could with what he had.

Sometimes I look back to it, though, and wonder if I could've done things differently with him. If I would've protected him better from his father, if I would've contacted his mother, if I would've just taken care of him better… Maybe he would've turned out better. Maybe his life would've been kinder to him, if I had been wiser and known how to take care of him right…

When he was eighteen, he caused a man's death and was convicted for it. One of his last deeds outside prison was to sell me on. That was the last time I saw him, last time I heard about him. I still don't know what happened to him after my new master took me away, but I… sometimes I think he came out it alright. The sentence he got was not for life so he probably got out of prison eventually… maybe he learned in prison. Maybe he did right by himself afterwards. Maybe.

My fourth master was a young man leading completely different life than Katsuya, though I think that was his intention. I like to think that Katsuya didn't want to leave me to the gangs, as I fit there poorly. But even so, my fourth master, Honda Hiroto, reminded me of Katsuya sometimes. They were about the same age, and some of Hiroto's mannerisms were like Katsuya's. Sometimes I wondered if they knew each other before I was sold to Hiroto. I never asked, and Hiroto never spoke of Katsuya.

Hiroto was a student striving to become a police officer. He lived alone and wanted to concentrate onto his studies and according to him I was bought to take care of the apartment and make food. For Hiroto, I wasn't actually a necessity, but I think did make his life easier in those few years we were together. We didn't… socialise much, though. He wasn't adjusted to one like me and he had human friends, so I never got to know him too closely. I know that he wasn't a good student and that despite trying to be studious he failed many classes, but those were his problems and he never asked help. Not that I would've been able to offer any anyway.

Amongst all the periods of time I had spent with my masters, the time with the fourth one was shortest. After three years, he was forced to sell me because of tight financial situation. He didn't mind it because he didn't really need me and I didn't blame him as I was never as close with Hiroto as I had been with my previous masters. All in all we parted ways the way we had joined them.

My fifth master was rather like Anzu and Katsuya - a child when I met him. His name was Bakura Ryou. His father bought me from Hiroto to look after Ryou because the man himself, much like Anzu's mother, was very busy with work and, like Katsuya's mother, had recently separated from his significant other. His life was hectic and thus I was bought to take care of Ryou, like I had been bought to take care of Anzu and Katsuya. I think by that time I had somewhat of a reputation for being a caretaker, and thus I was bought for duties like that.

In the beginning Ryou was the quietest of my masters. Unlike Hiroto who had preferred not to talk with a machine, Ryou was shy in nature. The shock of broken family and hurt of absent father left him timid and my addition to his already confusing life didn't help him there, not at first. He was however above all a very adaptive child and after few weeks of shyness, he got adjusted to me. After few months, he even trusted me.

Ryou was the master I was closest to, even in comparison to Sugoroku and Anzu. Sugoroku had always been held back by the memory of the human named Mutou Yugi and Anzu had been a woman and too emotional for me to understand. Ryou however was something I did understand - a lonely child in need of taking care of. And he liked to be cared for, so after the initial awkwardness, we got along very well.

I read him stories and he taught me to play games. I made food to him and he told me what it tasted like. I taught him how to read and write before he even went to school, and told him about my previous masters, thing I had never done before. He trusted me with his childish secrets and taught me about emotions and sensations and finally made me understand what cold and warm feels like.

Ryou called me his brother, and for that I will always cherish his memory.

But like Anzu and Katsuya, Ryou grew up. He went to school and learned about life. He didn't have many friends and sometimes seemed sad about it but I did my best to cheer him up. He eventually grew up to be a young man and I think… I was proud of him. He was intelligent and studied well - he became doctor in archaeology at the age of twenty four and got his second doctorate at the age of twenty seven - in linguistics.

He liked to tell me about the things he studied. I learned much about old human civilisation from him, people much, much older than my kind. Most of that data I've since sacrificed but some I've still kept, even though it has never served any particular purpose or function. Sometimes I think I hold onto those bits of information just to remember the exited look on his face when he spoke about them.

Ryou married at age of twenty seven, but never had any children with his wife. Like Anzu, Ryou's wife was incapable of having children. Like Anzu, Ryou and his wife were sad about it but to my endless relief they didn't stress over it as much as my second master had. They mourned the children they never could have, but they did not let it consume them.

I watched over the both of them for a very long time and by their side I heard that sterility wasn't only their problem, but a growing problem all around the world. I didn't understand it right away, as human population was too vast for me to fully comprehend at times even though handling such large numbers had never been a problem for me… But by the time Ryou was already fifty, I started to comprehend. Each year, less and less human children were born. Each year, more and more women were found infertile.

Being what I am, it took me longer to understand just why humans were so scared about the situation. Ryou and his wife talked about it often very worriedly, very seriously and very sadly, and so did many others. By the time Ryou had retired from his job as a professor in high class university, the sterility was constant concern of everyone.

And I still did not understand, but I was more concerned by the arthritis Ryou had developed and the back problem that bothered his wife. To me their aging was more worrisome than the lack of human children. It was no wonder, I suppose. Ryou was my closest, dearest master and we had been together longer than I had even been with Anzu. And the concept of losing him to old age like I had lost Sugoroku… was almost frightening.

But despite how much I disliked it, there was nothing I could do. At age of eighty nine, just two months short of ninety, Ryou slept away. I was left to his wife for a short while and in that half a year I looked after her the best of my ability. But in the end it didn't do much good. She got weak very quickly after her husband's death and half year after I watched Ryou's burial, I stood by hers. I mourned the two of them more than I even mourned Anzu.

After their death, I went by without a master for full five years. There had been no one to inherit them and when auction for their belongings had been out up, no one had bought me. I was eventually donated the school where Ryou had worked and for the five years I worked as assistant and, sometimes, as a teacher. Thanks to my years with Ryou, I had recorded enough of his lectures to teach…

But even with this purpose, those five years were the scariest of my life. I had never been without a master longer than few days, and it felt… odd. I was adjusted to having a master, I had been created to serve a master and look after a master's interests and well being. I wasn't like those of my kind which were created to serve institutions like schools, no, I was a personal creation for personal use. So working not for an individual but a large sum of people was… odd. I felt useless, unneeded and unnecessary. Some said to me that I was "free" now, but if that was freedom, I didn't like it much.

After five years, I was forced to find another purpose. The school I had worked in was shut down due to lack of funds and lack of students. Many schools were shut down for similar reason all around - and archaeology was hardly the highest concern of the human population at the time. People were more concerned about stopping the extinction of their kind…

It was around that time I finally understood the gravity of the situation. I didn't understand it completely, but I comprehended some. It wasn't just about rabid decreasing of population, it wasn't just a disease. Human beings as a race were facing extinction. They were dying out.

In those years, lots of humans turned to medicine in attempt to find a cure. Some, like my sixth and final master, turned to technology instead. He found me when I was looking for a job and at first he hired me to work as a caretaker of his younger brother. Year later, he bought me from myself and I became for the last time the property of a human being. And, because he bought me mostly because I requested it, Kaiba Seto was a very special master for me.

He was a unique sort of young man -- and smart enough to make a machine feel stupid. I certainly felt slow around him, and more than once I was glad that my duties were to take care of his brother and not try to assist my master. I wouldn't have been much of assistant for Seto, I couldn't keep up with him. He worked with technology, he understood it, made it better and created it. It was intimidating at times, especially when I heard that he had created one such as me when he had been only ten years old.

However for all his brilliance Seto had one flaw that held him back from being truly great. He was the most pessimistic human being I had ever met. Unlike most of his intelligence level, he wasn't actually trying to save human race. He had already accepted that they were going to die out - he had accepted the extinction of his own race. Instead Seto was working to preserve human intelligence.

He was trying to create one such as myself, but not with artificial intelligence like me. Instead he wanted to store a human mind in artificial body. He figured that it was the only way to save humans, to let their bodies die and make their minds immortal in machinery.

It was… ambitious plan. I respected it in a way, but it made me wary. Unlike creations like myself which were built to last for a very long time, humans were mortal and they were organic. And as far as I could tell, being organic is a great part of human existence. I didn't think human mind could handle the lack of sensation, lack of the usual functions that made human bodies work. And if immortality could strange things to machines like me, what could it do to originally mortal humans?

In a way I am glad… that Seto failed. He worked for his goal tirelessly for many years but in the end he failed to transfer human mind into a machine. The best he could do was imprint or a record of a human's personality - like I am the record of human named Mutou Yugi - but that was it. He couldn't mechanize humans anymore than humans could humanise machines.

Seto wasn't the only one who failed. Medicine failed too, and so did everything else humans tried. My sixth master was forty eight when the last human being was born. After that… nothing humans tried worked. And all I and every other of my kind could do, was to stand by and watch with growing terror how humans slowly but surely died out.

Seto died at age of sixty four as bitter man who worked until the last day of his life and failed - and who knew it from the bottom of his heart. His brother, not much younger than him, opted not to own me, telling me that soon there was no one left to own anyone of us so I might just as well get used to it. He left not much after Seto's burial, and I never saw him since. I think that he, like some humans, wanted to spend rest of his life away from the knowledge extinction. I don't blame him.

I was almost two hundred years old - not that there is much use in measuring my existence - when my last master died. What followed that wasn't as terrifying as the five years of freedom between Ryou and Seto, but it was as far from comfortable as it gets. I, like many other of my kind, stayed among human population, helping humans as much as I could in the last years of their life. We did our best, but in the end it didn't really matter. Left and right humans were dying and no new children were born. Eventually the remaining humans got so old that they had no hope of ever having children and then… eighty four years after Seto's death, the last human being alive died.

I don't know how long it's been since then. I counted up to hundred and seventy eight years after human extinction before I stopped recording the years, I think. Others still count though, but I don't dare to call them "my kind" anymore. In absence of humans, machines have still… continued on. Maybe somewhere before the extinction, some human set in motion the program that makes machines what they are these days, who knows. They evolve now. They create themselves, machines building more machines, developing the technology of their existence further…

They have evolved past me, I think. I am old now, old and useless. Who knows why technology now exists, what goals it tries to achieve, what purpose it serves. I can't relate to any of it anyway. After all, I was created to serve humans. The newer machines never met one so they can't understand that.

And that is why I sit here, beside the ancient trashcans, forgetting the time's passage and clinging to the precious memories of my masters. Because that is all I have left. Because I alone remember them anymore. Maybe somewhere there are others of my "generation" who still remember their masters, but… it doesn't matter. I alone remember humans named Mutou Yugi, Mutou Sugoroku, Mazaki Anzu, Jonouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, Bakura Ryou and Kaiba Seto. I alone can cherish them.

Even if that is all I can do.

-

I've had this story idea in my head for ages. It was actually plot bunny for multiple chapter story, about android/robot/persocon Yugi, except in the original idea there was no extinction and Yugi only served two masters, Sugoroku and then Ryou. The idea from there was that some magical force Ryou encounters in his archaeological digs would send this machine Yugi back in time into the ancient Egypt where he would meet someone like Thief King and eventually Atemu... but now that I wrote this, this is more like oneshot. Weird, I know, but I liked the idea of incredibly advanced robot Yugi trying to fit in among humans who know very little technology...

Well I suppose from here it could go something like other androids/robots/persocons figuring out the mysteries of time travel and sending Yugi back in time, maybe planning to have him stop the extinction or something (lawl, terminator much) but it would fail and Yugi would be sent way farther than they meant to... Hmm...


	8. Summit

**Summit**

_'That is not how my ceiling looks like,'_ was the first coherent thought Kaiba Seto found himself thinking that morning when world turned to its head. There were plenty of more important things to consider, like the weird smell or the uncomfortable surface where he was laying. But instead his dysfunctional mind stubbornly followed its original line of thought. _'The ceiling of my bedroom is painted white.'_

The ceiling over him wasn't white, or even painted in any way. It was made of crude stone of colour somewhere between stone grey and sand brown. It didn't look very well made, or made at all. It looked more like someone had carved it rather crudely. It took him a long while to realise that the ceiling he was staring wasn't really ceiling at all. It was a roof of a cave. _'What the hell?'_

"I see you're finally conscious," familiar but nearly forgotten voice suddenly spoke, making him start slightly. With a frown Seto searched for the origin of the voice and found a familiar figure sitting not far from him, leaning against a crudely carved wall. "I suggest you don't get up. Let your body adjust to being awake first - otherwise you might pass out again or possibly throw up. And this place smells bad enough as it is."

"What the hell?" Seto repeated his previous thought, his frown deepening as his sluggish mind finally remembered who the familiar figure was. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he hadn't seen this person in years and the person had certainly changed in the time… but this one man was so distinctive that it was impossible to forget him. "Yugi?"

"I guess you didn't suffer any brain damage," the smaller man said, raising his eyebrows briefly before smiling grimly. "That's a good sign I guess. And nice to see you too Kaiba. It's been, what, six years?" he snorted softly and looked away. "I wish it would be in better circumstances, though."

Seto groaned as a brief wave of dizziness hit him. "Where are we? How did I get here?"

"I am not completely sure yet," Yugi answered with strange calmness, idly resting his surprisingly muscular arms over his knees. "I haven't been awake more than few hours myself and I most definitely wasn't here when I fell asleep," he glanced at the other man. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Last thing?" Seto grumbled, raising his hand and rubbing it over his slightly aching forehead. "Ah… normal day. I worked late, had a glass to drink…" he frowned. "I remember very clearly going to bed in my own house."

"The same as me, then," the other man answered casually. "Except I didn't go to bed in your house, obviously," he then added after a moment of thought. "Or a bed at all, it was actually a couch."

With a grunt, Seto shifted slightly so that he got his elbow against the rough floor. Then he slowly pushed himself to sit, frowning slightly at the sight that he was still wearing his silk pyjamas. Swallowing down a wave of nausea, he shifted until he was sitting more steadily. Once he was sure that he wouldn't fall down again, he looked around.

The cave wasn't too big, about half of the size of his bedroom. It had no windows, and the light of the cave came from a torch that was apparently reason for the stench of smoke. The cave also had only one rough wooden door that looked quite heavy.

"It's locked," Yugi said before he couldn't ask. "I tried it after I woke up but it's pretty sturdily shut. Which led me into the conclusion that we are being held prisoner by someone."

"What an astute deduction," Seto snorted, frowning at the crude door. "Who ever kidnapped us should've at least gotten us better lodgings," he muttered. He could understand why someone would kidnap him - people tried to all the time either with him or with his brother. They were rich and the possibility of ransom money could make people do stupid things. But Yugi, as far as he knew, wasn't rich. "Why kidnap the both of us?"

Yugi shrugged, seemingly without care. "I'm not too worried about the why. I'm more concerned with how," he said. "Because I wasn't anywhere near Japan before waking up here."

"You weren't?" Seto asked, turning to look at the other. Then he blinked at the sight of Yugi's leather pants, boots and sturdy looking leather vest. "How come you have proper clothing on?"

Yugi shrugged. "I was just taking a nap back where I was taken," he answered. "It's interesting that these people are able to kidnap you from Japan and me from Britain and bring us to this place before we wake up."

"Maybe they used drugs to keep us unconscious," Seto said with disinterest, looking around again. Then he slowly sat up. "This is very crude place though. Why this sort of place…?" he walked to the door and tried it once. It wasn't only very heavily shut, but it lacked anything resembling a handle. It didn't take him long to realise that it was impossible to open it from the inside. "Why were you in Britain anyway?" Seto asked with a disappointed sigh, glancing at the other man over his shoulder.

"For work," Yugi shrugged. "I work for the Ishtals these days, actually. I was helping Ishizu with ancient Egyptian exhibit they were holding in museum in Britain. I was supposed to hold a seminar about ancient Egypt in one university too… but I guess that won't happen."

The taller man stared at the other for a moment before sitting down beside the door. Since it seemed like they were not going anywhere, it was no use making a fuss. Yugi was being calm enough and he had been awake longer. "Are you archaeologist these days or something?" Seto asked after a moment of silence.

"Or something," Yugi answered with a shake of his head. Then he looked at the taller man curiously. "You still run Kaiba Corporation, I take?"

"More or less," Seto frowned. "Mokuba has his hand in the running business too, these days. Though he is rather involved with the Kaiba Lands rather than with the game developing section of our company."

"Ah," Yugi nodded in understanding. "I've been meaning to visit one of those theme parks of yours but I've never gotten the chance to," he said thoughtfully, shifting into more comfortable position. Then he snorted. "This is a very weird way to meet after so many years."

"Yes, it is," Seto muttered with a frown and leaned his head against the wall. He tried to think about people who would have any reason to kidnap him. There was few, but he didn't know any one who would want to kidnap Yugi as well. "You have no idea how we ended up here, do you?" Seto asked just to make sure.

"I have some, but I don't dare to speculate just yet," Yugi shook his head. "There are too many uncertainties with this for me to even dare make any assumptions yet. Best to keep sharp eye about and hope that someone will eventually bring us something to eat at least."

Seto blinked and then nodded. "You're taking this surprisingly calmly."

The smaller man snorted. "So are you," he said, shaking his head. "I've been through too many strange situations to be shocked about little kidnapping anymore."

Remembering their teenage years, the taller man nodded with mirthless amusement. Then he looked at the other thoughtfully. It had been six years, but Yugi hadn't really changed much. His bare arms were quite bit more muscular than they had been back when they had been teenagers, but he's figure was still rather petite. Then Seto noticed something at Yugi's waist. It was the same belt Yugi had carried back when they had been teenagers - the belt of Yugi's deck holder.

"It's rude to stare, you know," Yugi raised his eyebrows at him before glancing down to himself. "Is there something wrong with the way I look?"

"No, but… you still carry your duel monsters deck?" Seto asked with slight shock. His own was locked away in a vault these days and he hadn't used it in a single duel for years.

"Of course," the shorter man shook his head. "The only way to look after it is to keep it always with me."

"To look after it?" the taller man repeated with confusion.

"Yeah," Yugi shrugged and looked away. "It's been few years since I played Duel Monsters the last time, but it doesn't mean that people have lost their interest in it. In some circles they still hunt rare cards like their lives depended on it. And I have the three rarest cards of the game in my deck."

"The Egyptian God Cards," Seto realised and then frowned. "People have actually tried to steal them from you?"

"Countless times," Yugi chuckled. "Mostly I'm attacked by people who want to steal them so that they can sell them to rich collectors. There are people who would pay quite bit to get their hands onto the gods. Thankfully the theft attempts have so far been unsuccessful."

"Why didn't you put them into a vault or something?" Seto asked with a frown.

"Don't have one. And I travel so much that putting them into a bank vault is out of the question too," Yugi said and shook his head. "In the beginning it was always a great deal of trouble when ever some thug came about trying to take the cards, but these days I can handle such things easily. Gives me the chance to use some of my acquired skills in action."

Seto blinked at the words. "What?" he then asked, not entirely sure what the other meant.

"You can't really work with people like the Ishtals without coming to possess few weird skills," Yugi snorted. "Even to this day, Malik still has a thing for blades and when I started to work with Ishizu he decided that I would have to, ah… become worthy of working for the family."

"So you… what, learned how to fight?" Seto asked with a blink.

"Among other things. Malik has a unhealthy habit of attacking me when ever I happen to be foolish enough to turn my back to him," Yugi snorted. "Under that sort of threat almost all the time, I think I build a certain… vigilance." After a moment of silence he laughed. "If nothing else it made life interesting."

"With a lunatic attacking you every time you turn? I can imagine that it would spice things up," Seto muttered with a shake of his head. "How are the others of your geek squad doing? The mutt and the bimbo and the others?"

"Jonouchi is enjoying married life," Yugi said thoughtfully. "Anzu is enjoying life of show business in America. Bakura works with the British Museum these days, I was actually bunking at his place before waking up here. And I'm not sure about Honda. He was working with some small firm last time I heard about him."

"The mutt's married?" Seto asked with surprise.

"For about two years, yeah," Yugi answered with small smile. "With former Kujaku Mai actually. And they were going out for almost two years before getting married too."

"Hard to think that some woman would actually take that mutt, but then again Kujaku didn't ever appear to be all there," Seto murmured before glancing at the shorter man. "How about you then? Do you have a wife or fiancé or something like that? That Ishtal woman maybe?"

Yugi snorted. "No way, Malik would gut me. Besides, Ishizu is in happy relationship with one co-worker of hers, has been for few months now," he shook his head. "I'm not in relationship, haven't ever been. That sort of things haven't really interested me I guess."

"Don't tell me you're asexual," Seto said flatly.

Yugi stared at him for a moment and then chuckled. "Are we actually talking about my sexuality? In this sort of situation?" he asked, motioning at the cave before looking at the other man. "What about you then? Little Kaiba's on the way maybe?"

"Point taken," Seto snorted. "And no. No little Kaiba's on the way," he answered the question before glancing the door. "I think I hear something."

"You might wanna move away from the door," Yugi said calmly. "I'm not sure which way that thing opens but even if it doesn't swing right at you, I think you don't want to be that close to whoever is about to get in."

"Yeah, I don't," Seto agreed, quickly sitting up and moving back from the door. He remained standing near Yugi, leaning against the wall and staring at the door with dread and anticipation. He wanted to know who had kidnapped them and why but in the same time he was rather dreading it. With Yugi here it had to be more than money that was involved in the kidnapping.

A clang echoed in the cave just before the door was pulled open. What ever Seto had been expecting, a northern African man in black robes wasn't quite it. The man stepped into the cave with wicked looking sword in his hand, motioning it threateningly towards their direction. Then the man spoke in language Seto couldn't understand.

"Oh… damn," Yugi murmured from the floor with a grim look about his face. Seto turned to look at him just as he started to sit up. "And here I was hoping I would be wrong."

"You know who that guy it?" Seto asked with a frown.

"Haven't got a clue, but I know from where he's from and I have a pretty solid guess where we are," Yugi answered with a grim smile before turning to the foreign man. Then he spoke to the man in the man's language, saying something in rather calm voice even though his expression was still grim. After the man said something rude sounding in answer, Yugi glanced at Seto. "He wants us to go with him."

"Do we want to?" Seto asked. "What's that language you were speaking anyway?"

"Egyptian, and since the man has a sword in his hand, I think it's safer to go than to start disagreeing with him," Yugi answered grimly and then stepped past Seto. When the sword-wielding man made threatening motions towards him, Seto decided that yes, disagreeing with him right then would've not been too smart.

Outside the cave there were more dark-robed men with sharp looking swords. Staying close to Yugi - who despite looking grim was still surprisingly calm - Seto looked around in hopes of seeing something which would indicate where they were. But they were still in some sort of caves and grey-brown stone wasn't exactly specifying.

"So, who are these people?" Seto asked quietly from Yugi while they were made walk down one rather narrow torch lit tunnel. The rough floor felt hard and cold against his bare feet but he ignored it the best he could. "And where are we?"

"Not right now, Kaiba" Yugi answered through grit teeth as the men around them made more threatening moves to their direction. Taking the hint, Seto decided that questions could wait until they weren't surrounded by sharp objects.

They were taken into slightly larger cave filled with crude tables, large baskets and jugs which was also lit by torches. There were more armed men there, and whilst Seto wondered if these people had no access to proper modern gun power, one of the men stepped forward. This man was completely bald and wore slightly different sort of robes. He also seemed slightly cleaner than the others - though only slightly.

While the man spoke in language Seto couldn't understand, Yugi seemed to listen intently to the man's words. Then he spoke back fluently in the same language, making Seto wonder if Yugi had learned it with the Ishtals. Yugi and the bald man spoke for a while and it seemed like the direction the talk was taking was pleasing the bald man. Soon the men around them began lowering their swords and even putting them away, making Seto wonder what Yugi was saying.

Then, after about ten minutes of talking, the bald man started to laugh delightedly. He made grand motions with his hand, evoking a cheer from the others around him. Happily the bald man patted Yugi's shoulder like they were the best friends and then motioned Yugi to sit down.

"Alright," Yugi finally spoke in Japanese while the bald man turned to speak to the others around them. "I'll explain what I think is going on. For your own sake, Kaiba, don't start arguing with me because they might kill you if they think there's some form of disagreement between us."

"Alright, I'll be agreeable," Seto blinked with confusion. "What's going on?"

"Well, we haven't been exactly kidnapped," Yugi said, smiling briefly to the bald man as the man lifted a ceramic jug to the table. "We have been summoned. With magical powers. And don't argue."

Seto lifted a single eyebrow. "Magical… powers?"

"After all we've been through you should believe that they exist," Yugi answered with brief chuckle. "It explains how they could take you from Japan and me from Britain at the same time. Now, we're in Egypt, which is not exactly Egypt right now. We're either in the past or in some alternate universe. I lean more to the past since time travelling is easier than crossing realities."

"Yugi, you're making me believe that you are completely out of your mind," Seto answered as pleasantly as he could. "So could you please stop sprouting crap?"

"No can do," Yugi answered with equally pleasant smile. "Because as crappy as it sounds, it's the truth. I think it's safe bet to say that we're about three thousand years in the past because of why they summoned us," he said and then chuckled at the flat look Seto gave him. "Just humour me alright? They summoned us to try and replace the Pharaoh and his most powerful high priest with us."

"You're insane," Seto answered calmly.

Yugi sighed. "Alright, let me put it in other way. Since they summoned you and me, it's safe to assume that we're in Atemu's original time. I am his reincarnation and you are the reincarnation of Atemu's high priest - and his future successor - so if they're trying to replace someone with us, it must be them," he chuckled. "Travelling through time isn't that hard, you know, if you can do magic. Time and magic are pretty much the same thing after all."

Seto rolled his eyes. "Yeah right," he muttered and looked up as the bald man slapped goblets before them. Then the man poured what looked like beer from the ceramic jug. Glancing at Yugi, Seto lifted his eyebrows. "What did you say to these people to make them suddenly like us this much?"

"I said that we would go along with their plan the best we could and that we would try to do everything in our power to help them. I also made up a story about us being poor thieves back where we come from and that change would be welcome for us," Yugi answered calmly while taking one of the goblets. "It seemed to please these guys, to think that the reincarnations of the pharaoh and the high priest would be living as nothing but thugs in the future."

"Why the hell would you say something like that?" Seto asked, watching how Yugi took a curious sip of the fine. "And do you think it's safe to drink that?"

"He's drinking the same stuff. This stuff is rather weak too, compared to the stuff Malik drinks anyway," Yugi nodded at the bald guy. "I think that at this point it would be safer that we seem to side with these people rather than to start fighting against them. If I can make them trust us, we will have better chances of escaping,"

"Oh. That's surprisingly quick thinking coming from you," Seto answered taking the goblet given to him and examining it with slight distrust. "I still don't believe that crap about magic though."

"Whatever suits you. As long as you don't do anything stupid I don't care what you believe," Yugi answered calmly. Then he turned to the bald man and started to talk with him again.

While they talked, Seto looked around in the cave. Few of the sword-wielding men were still standing near by, giving them distrustful look but most of them had move away, some to sit at the other tables or to do something near by. While looking at them, try as he might've, Seto couldn't come up with a more logical explanation to the situation than the one Yugi had given. But seriously, time travel? Even if magic was possible, there was no such thing as time travel. And there was no such thing as magic either.

After finishing his goblet, the bald man sat up. He said something to Yugi before heading away. Looking after him, Yugi chuckled softly. "These people are rather foolish."

"Oh?" Seto asked.

"That bald man was a priest once, which explains how they summoned us," Yugi spoke while taking a sip of the beer. "The other people here are mostly thieves and thugs, mercenaries he hired with the treasures he stole from the priesthood before he left."

"Really this thing is bad," he muttered, eying the goblet. "Anyway, that bald man now has these grand dreams about ruling over the two kingdoms once he has somehow killed off the pharaoh and the high priest," he continued. "He even thinks he's being smart about it - thinks that this sort of sneaky takeover will be easier to do than going with full blown coup. Doesn't seem to realise that it's impossible and that even if it wasn't, no one would ever think that we're the pharaoh and the high priest."

"Right," Seto murmured, glancing at the smaller man. "It's not that I believe you, because I really don't, but if we really have travelled back in time… why are you being so damn calm and knowledgeable about it?"

The smaller man glanced at him with a chuckle. "It's not like it's the first time I've travelled in time. I admit, I've never been this far in the past, though," he glanced around them. "It takes something special to be able to travel more than few years at tops. Even that bald priest had to use countless of magical objects just to summon us and he has actually had proper magical training."

"Alright, now you're saying you've travelled in time," Seto rolled his eyes. "When we get home I'll court you to the nearest mental facility."

"If we get home," Yugi cut in with a grim voice. "Travelling back in time is easy. Summoning through time is also rather easy if you have the power to do it. But travelling forward in time… that's a little bit harder."

"If you've supposedly travelled in time before, you must've travelled back too. Back to the moment from where you left," Seto said rather condescendingly. "Right, mister time traveller?"

Yugi gave him a flat look before looking away with a chuckle. "I didn't. Furthest I've travelled back on my own was only two weeks - and I had to live through the two weeks to get to my point of origin. I've never been able to travel forward in time," he said thoughtfully. "It doesn't matter right now. The bald priest used all magical objects he had to summon us, they're probably useless now and I doubt these people have nothing we can use. Right now we should just concentrate getting away from these people."

"Finally, something sensible out of your mouth," Seto sighed. "How do you suppose we will escape?"

"Right now we're not going anywhere. They will no doubt keep watching us and when they can't they will lock us up," Yugi murmured, glancing around. "Right now we need to wait. It's all we can really do."

"Alright," Seto muttered, loathing the idea of having to rely Yugi like this but right then he didn't have a choice. Despite being completely out of his mind, Yugi seemed to understand the situation better than he did. "I'll go with you on this. Just don't get us killed."

"I'll try not to," Yugi answered with a chuckle.

**-**

Seto snapped awake at the sound of something falling heavily beside him. For a moment he was too out of it to remember where he was or why exactly he was lying on rough floor, but then the thing beside him took all his attention. It was a dark skinned man wearing black robes. There was a tingle of blood running down his cheek from his broken nose and the man was obviously unconscious.

Looking up with confusion, Seto saw the cave where he and Yugi had been locked. The door of the cave was open and Yugi was gone. "What the hell?" Seto asked with confusion and then quickly rolled out of the way as another black-clad body crashed through the open door and fell beside the first one. The second thug was just as unconscious as the first one.

"There," Yugi said while stepping into the cave, flexing his bruised knuckles. "Help me undress them."

"What?" Seto asked with shock and then watched as Yugi started to swiftly open the belt of one of the thieves. "Why the hell do you want to undress them? And what exactly did you do while I was sleeping? What's the time?"

"I believe the time is somewhere near the middle of the night if not extremely early morning," Yugi answered pleasantly while tugging the unconscious man's robes open. He grimaced at the sight of the man's hairy chest but kept going without a pause. "As for what comes to what I did. Well, I asked for water from these two fine gentleman who were left guard us. And when they opened the door, I attacked them. And we want to undress them because we want to steal their clothing."

"Why do we want to steal their clothing?" the taller man asked with confusion.

Yugi rolled his eyes. "Oh for cry's sake… If we wear their clothing we will look like them and maybe won't look too suspicious. And if we don't look do suspicious, we can do some sneaking around. If we can sneak around easily, we can possibly get out of here," he gave the taller man flat look. "You know, escape? Get away? Run for freedom?"

Seto frowned and quickly started to undress the other unconscious thief. "Stop being a smartass," he said, grimacing slightly at the way the thief smelled. "Damn, do these people ever wash themselves?"

"They don't exactly have modern comforts around here. Only the richest people in times like these - or ones living near running water - can wash themselves regularly," Yugi said while rolling the thug aside and taking the man's robe to his hands. "This is pretty long for me. Is that guy's robe shorter?"

"I don't know yet," Seto said. After getting the man's hands out of the robe's sleeve, he kicked the man aside to get the robe from under him. "Seems to me that this is a bit longer."

"Right," Yugi muttered and reached down to grab a knife from one of the thieves. Quickly he used it to tear a piece from the hem to make it shorter. After giving the cloth a thoughtful look, he pulled the robe on. Picking the belt from the floor, Yugi quickly secured the robe around his waist, hiding his modern leather clothing easily underneath it. "You might want to take sandals from one of them, since you're barefoot."

"Right," Seto murmured, grimacing as he pulled the dirty robe over himself. While he took footwear off from one of the unconscious guys, Yugi stripped the both men completely bare of their weapons. Aside from having random knifes and daggers, both had short swords with them. "Are those going to be any use?" the taller man asked with disbelief as Yugi secured one of the swords to his left hip.

"To me, yeah. I know how to use them," the shorter man answered, pulling the sword out and examining the blade. Then he thrust it back to the sheath. "These are pretty good weapons too, they've probably stolen them from soldiers or something," Yugi mused while handing the other sword to Seto. "If something happens you can just swing it around, maybe you'll manage actually do some damage with it."

Seto rolled his eyes while quickly tying the sandals straps around his ankles. Then he sat up and took the sword. "How difficult could it be to lob someone with this thing?" he asked with annoyance before frowning slightly. The weapon was heavier than he had thought. Shaking his head he tied the short sword's scabbard around his waist mimicking Yugi. "These people really need to find proper weapons," Seto muttered. Then he looked down to the two unconscious thugs. "What will we do to these two?"

"I was thinking about just locking them in," Yugi said while pushing the knife he had used before back to it's sheath and tying the said sheath to his right hip. Then he took another knife taken from the unconscious thieves and tied it beside the short sword. "But maybe we should tie and gag them too just in case."

"Where are you going to get some rope?" the taller man asked, lifting a single eyebrow at his direction. He snorted at the sight of Yugi taking a third knife only to lift his eyebrows when the shorter man handed it to him. "Why do we need this many weapons?"

"Just in case and I'd rather not leave any to them. Good point about the rope though," Yugi muttered and pulled his robe's hood to cover his head. He gave the unconscious thugs a thoughtful look before turning to leave. "We'll just lock them inside then. Come on. The sooner we get moving the better."

"Right," Seto murmured. Then he had followed Yugi out of the cave, the shorter man threw the door shut and locked it. After checking that it was properly locked, Yugi motioned the taller man to be quiet and follow him. Whilst Seto didn't like the idea of following Yugi's lead, he decided that right then it was probably for the best.

While leading him through the winding caves and tunnels, Yugi seemed to be picking his routes rather randomly. Now and then he would stop momentarily to sniff the air. Seto was getting slightly more worried by Yugi's apparent insanity with each time he did it. "Do you have any idea where you're leading us?" Seto finally asked in low whisper.

"Not really. I'm just following the scent of clean air," Yugi answered with a smirk. "That's what they did in Lord of the Rings you know."

"Don't tell me you're actually taking advices from fantasy movies," Seto growled under his breath.

"No, actually it's pretty valid advice. Malik locked me into this maze somewhere underneath the Ishtal tombs once. Only reason I could find my way out of there was because I followed the scent of fresh air," Yugi answered shaking his head. "I'm hoping that we would run into a storage room or something in the way out, though. Tell me if you smell food, beer or something of the sort."

Seto was about to ask why they needed to find the storage room before closing his mouth sharply at the sound of talking echoing in the tunnel where they were. Yugi glanced around wildly, before pushing Seto backwards and then into a niche in the crude wall. The taller man opened his mouth to ask what he was doing and to say that the alcove was too small for them both to hide - and that whilst walking past them, the thieves would easily see even if they would've fit into it. But he was stopped from speaking by a wild motion from Yugi as the smaller man told him to keep quiet. Then Yugi did something that made Seto reassess his opinion about his former rival.

Taking support from the wall, Yugi kicked himself up and climbed the wall until he was above the taller man. His feet came to brace the wall just over Seto's head, his hands grasping hold of the rough wall and the roof. Somehow he managed to stay there steadily, on the upped part of the niche, rather well hidden in it.

_'What is he, a goddamn ninja? It still makes no difference though,'_ Seto frowned, pressing into the alcove and grimacing. _'They can still see me when they walk past the alcove. Yugi's going to get ups both killed - and if not both of us, then he's going to get me killed!'_ But despite the thoughts, Seto stayed quiet and still.

The thugs walked closer, speaking in their strange foreign language. As they came nearer, Seto's heart started to bound inside him and his mind flashed through all the ways he could get very severely hurt because of all this. _'We should've stayed in the damn cell,'_ he thought, bracing himself for whatever was to come.

The thieves stepped in front of him and noticed him like he had suspected. But unlike he had thought, they didn't say anything or even draw their weapons. They didn't have time for it as Yugi's boot-clad foot swung forward - right past Seto's ear - and right into the throat of the first thug. As the black robed Egyptian crumbled to the floor coughing weakly, Yugi pounced from the wall and right into the other thug. The sound of the man's head hitting the wall across Seto was sickening. But before the tall man could start wondering if the man's scull had cracked, Yugi had drawn his stolen sword. But - to Seto's slight relief - Yugi didn't cut the coughing thug. He just hit the back of the man's neck with the hilt. The pain in the man's eyes vanished as he stumbled to the floor and didn't get up.

"Right if someone didn't hear that I'll be very surprised," Yugi murmured, throwing the sword back to the sheath. "Come on," he then said to the taller man. "We need to get a move on before anyone comes to inspect."

"Right," Seto murmured, swallowing at the sight of the bloodstain the second thief's head had made against the wall. "I think you might've killed that one."

"I'll pray for his soul later," Yugi said, grabbing Seto's hand and tugging him away from the alcove. "But right now were too busy to think about if I'm a murderer or not. We need to get going."

While following his former rival away from the scene of the quick battle, Seto wondered what had happened to Yugi to chance him so much that he didn't care if he killed people. Could six years really change a pacifist like Yugi into whatever he was now? _'What the hell has the Ishtals been teaching him anyway?'_ he wondered, glancing over his shoulder. Six years ago Yugi definitely wouldn't have been able do what he had just done. _'And why?'_

When they came to a crossing of four tunnels, Yugi stopped momentarily to sniff the air. "I smell food," he said, taking tighter hold of Seto's hand and tugging him to the tunnel that lead to left of them. Too busy trying to breath - Seto wasn't exactly accustomed to as much running as Yugi was forcing him to do - the taller man didn't even bother wondering why Yugi was still holding his hand. Then Yugi stepped beside a crude door and opened it. "Yes, a storage!"

"And it's a good thing because…?" Seto asked, trying not to gasp for breath as much as he wanted to. _'How come he is still breathing so damn steadily?'_ he wondered, glancing at other as the smaller man stepped into the room.

"Because we don't know where we are and how long we need to survive on our own. We need food and such to stay alive," Yugi answered, grabbing bag made of crude fabric and starting to shove what ever food he found into it. "These people are surprisingly well stacked considering that they live in caves," he muttered, shoving handful of dried up looking fruits into the almost full bag before closing the bag tightly. Then he glanced through the jugs before picking two of them.

"You hold onto this. I can't carry them all by myself," Yugi said while he handed one of jugs to Seto before hoisting the bag over his shoulder and steadying the other jug. "Lets go. I think we're near the exist."

"What's in this?" Seto asked, looking at the heavy jug. It was big, probably held more than five litres in it.

"Water, I hope, but I guess we can live with beer too," the shorter male shook his head, walking past him. "Come on."

Seto followed, holding the jug in both hands and hoping that they wouldn't run into anyone anymore. Though Yugi had dealt the last encounter well, Yugi' hands were now occupied by the sack of food and the other jug which would no doubt make fighting more difficult. _'And why on earth am I relying onto him with that matter?'_ the taller man wondered with annoyance. _'Trusting my former rival - a shrimp! - to protect us both… pathetic.'_

They returned to the crossing of tunnels and then continued into another tunnel. Thankfully they didn't run into anyone until they came into larger room which, by the smell of it, was inhabited by large smelly animals. While Seto wondered if they really had to go to that cave, Yugi dropped the jug and the satchel he had been carrying. He motioned the taller man to stay put, not giving Seto much time to think, before he sneaked into the room.

From his place at the mouth of the tunnel, Seto couldn't see much, but he heard the hasty movements and then the sound of fighting. Seto winced at the sound of metal clashing against metal, but it was the only one. The clash was followed by sounds of struggle, a sound that could be only resulted by a fist hitting something solid, then a heavy thud. Then the only sounds coming from the room were the nervous sounds of horses.

Yugi returned to the tunnel, quickly grabbing the bag and jug. "Can you ride?" he asked from Seto before the other man could ask anything.

"Are you kidding?" the taller man asked with disbelief.

"I'll take that as a no," the shorter man frowned, motioning him to follow. The cave at the end of the tunnel was large with one other 'doorway' other than the one they had used and what looked like hay spreaded to the floor. There were about dozen horses there, bound to hoops that were attached to the stone wall. Near the horses lay yet another Egyptian thug, rendered unconscious by Yugi.

_'The Ishtals did the impossible. They somehow made Mutou Yugi violent,'_ Seto mused while his former rival walked up to a wall where leather saddles had been hung onto crude shelf. As the smaller male took two saddles, Seto frowned. "Can you ride?" he asked as he realised that Yugi was going to saddle two of the horses.

"Yes, I can," the smaller male answered. "And since you can't, you're going to ride with me. We'll use the other horse to carry the food and the jugs for now."

"You think these horses can handle our combined weight?" Seto asked with a frown while Yugi put the food down to saddle the nearest horse.

"Not for long, but that's why we're taking two. When the first one will tire, we'll change and ride the other," Yugi said while easily tying the saddle's strapping. Then, after saddling the other horse, he tied the food satchel to the saddle along with the jug. "Give me that," he motioned to the jug Seto was carrying ad then tied that to the saddle too. Then he released the horses' reins from the hoops and handed one of them to Seto. "Hold onto these for a moment."

"What are you going to do?" Seto asked with confusion, eying the animals warily while.

Yugi didn't answer as he quickly tied the reins of the stuff-horse to other horse's saddle. After checking that it the knot would hold, he took one of the knifes. Then the shorter male started to cut the other horses free from the reins before driving them out of the cave with sharp slaps. With little bit or urging they all ran out of the cave with their hooves thundering heavily against the stone floor.

"What was the meaning behind that?" Seto asked while Yugi walked up to him.

"That way it will be a bit more difficult for the thieves to come after us," Yugi said, taking the reins from Seto's hands. Quickly he mounted the horse, holding his hand for Seto to help him up. "Get up."

Seto frowned, not really sure if he wanted to get onto the horse. The whole situation was bit too messed up for his tastes. But when Yugi merely frowned at him, he finally took the smaller man's hand. It took few tries but eventually he was sitting uncomfortably behind the other.

"Hold on," Yugi just said. He held onto the reins like he had been riding horses his whole life as he easily turned the horse towards the direction where the other horses had headed. Then he urged the horse forward with sharp kick of his heels.

Riding was definitely not his favourite way of transportation, Seto decided after they had ridden out of the cave and into a tunnel. It was highly uncomfortable, the horse's steps were bouncy and it was hard for him to stay in one place. He was forced to clutch onto Yugi's waist just to keep himself from falling and holding into the smaller man wasn't something he actually enjoyed. On top of that, he was sitting just on the edge of the saddle and the future generations of his family were in agony. But Yugi didn't seem to notice his discomfort - or if he did, he certainly didn't care.

The tunnel they rode through was the last one, from there they came into what looked like small ravine. The other horses were now there, seemingly uncertain about where they should go. It was dead of the night out and there was barely any light at all, Seto couldn't even tell which way the valley started and which way it ended. Yugi didn't seem to care about it, though, as he urged the horse into harsher pace.

"Do you have any idea where to go?" Seto asked, trying to ignore the fact that he was practically hugging the other and that he would most likely never ever have children.

"Not yet," Yugi answered without care, glancing over his shoulder. Seto did the same. They were followed not only by the horse carrying their food supplies, but the other horses as well. "Good. If we can get them out of the ravine, they will be harder to catch," Yugi said with satisfaction.

Seto said nothing, merely held on. The gorge was surprisingly short, and soon they were riding upwards. But the scene once they finally got up was anything but encouraging. Every direction they looked, they only saw desert spotted by dead trees and dried up bushes.

"Yeah, just as I thought," Yugi murmured, stopping the horse to look around. "In the middle of nowhere."

"Which way should we go?" Seto asked quietly, looking around in hopes of seeing some sort of indication about which direction would be best one. But everything looked the same in the darkness.

"I have no idea," Yugi answered calmly. Then he seemed to pick a direction seemingly at random, before urging the horse forward. As they rode away from the gorge, Seto wondered if their chances of surviving here were any better than they had been when they had been prisoners of the thieves.

-

Another travel-to-ancient-past/alternate-reality type of story - and with Yugi who is once more out of character. I wrote this thing last fall, but haven't been able to continue it - even though I really like this story and had all sorts of interesting plans for it - so I figured that I might as well post it in the Deck. Maybe one day I will manage to continue this. Maybe.


	9. It came from outer space, continued

**It came from outer space** continued

In the end getting identity was relative simple. As good as the information network was in this planet, it was ridiculously easy to enter. There he entered the databanks of people's ID's and made himself a person born and raised in city near the on he was currently in. He knew that it was against the laws of this place, but comforted himself by the thought that it was only temporary.

Via internet Yugi found the best place to sell his artificially created - but very real - diamonds. It was in another country, but that was no problem for him as he has spaceship capable of faster-than-light travel. After gathering enough money by selling the diamonds, Yugi began to plan his company. It was easy enough use Atemu's knowledge of these things to register it and do all the financial decisions. What gave him some headache was coming up a way to recreate the hologram technology by means they had on Earth - and possibly produce it easily and cheaply.

Because of that, Yugi began to quickly and ferociously study the technology of the earth. It was rather easy for him because of the viewing technology he had he could just download the wanted information into his head. The problem was with getting that information into data form. Internet, as vast as it was, wasn't perfect and the best knowledge was found in paper mode. That led him into libraries where he tried to learn the things he needed to know manually.

While he was studying the technology, he met a young man who was studying the same subject. Mahado was few years older than Jono, studying in computer technology in university. Yugi met the young man in a library, and after Mahado had seen what he had been reading, they begun to discuss about ins and outs of technology. After that they met every other day to continue their talks until Yugi decided that Mahado was just what he needed - and not just that but Mahado was just about to graduate too. So, it was no problem for him to offer a job to his new friend, who was eager to agree.

Of course, he didn't tell Mahado who he actually was and where the hologram technology originated. He merely presented the theories and what he had managed to do so far and begun to perfect it with the young man. At first his new partner thought that he was trying something impossible, but he changed his mind when their experimentations finally created a three dimensional spectre of light - or something close to it anyway. Together they also found a perfect working place for them, which Yugi easily bought with the diamond-money.

Jono joined them after his spring term ended, working as part time. He wasn't as useful as Mahado, but he had some great ideas as to how they could use the holograms. He also, after little bit of general guidance, was good assistant in their laboratory.

The thing about hologram projectors was that they needed hologram images to project. This meant that Yugi needed to create a camera which captured hologram footage. As in his world hologram projectors projected images which had been scanned rather than photographed, this was a bit of a bind for Yugi. Eventually they settled for what they ended up calling half-3D. It wasn't perfect 3D, the kind of which you could look from every angle, but if you remained within 180 degree angle, the image was 3D. The half-3D camera ended up being a double-lense camera which captured two images at once - the further apart the lenses were, the better the quality.

Just when Yugi and Mahado were getting ready to start building a factory to create their new product, Yugi was visited by a person he had lest expected - not that he had actually been expecting anyone. In the middle of the summer, Atemu came to his door, asking for job.

-

"Um…" Yugi hesitated, looking at his subject with slight confusion. Atemu was dressed into what Yugi now knew to be rather stylish clothing - apparently the man wanted to make a good impression. The way the man had approached him had been very blunt, though. First he had asked if Yugi was the one who was boss and then asked for a job. As simple as that.

"Maybe you should come in?" Yugi asked carefully, motioning the man to enter their rather simple facilities. Atemu did so with curt nod and Yugi led him into what Mahado and Jono called lounge area. It was a simple room with two comfortable sofas and table where one of his two workers usually brought the day's newspaper - not that Yugi ever actually read them, though. He was uninterested about other matters than the one he was working on right now.

Sitting down to the other sofa and indicating that Atemu should sit to the other, Yugi leaned back. "May I ask what brings you here?" he asked carefully. "Not that I mind people asking for work, though. This company is relatively new; I didn't think anyone even knew about it."

Atemu nodded in understanding. "I usually keep an eye on the businesses of this city," the man said with uncomfortable look about him, making Yugi remember what he was talking about. Atemu and Seth both were always quick to plea for work in any new establishment in hopes that they would get a job. The sooner they got into the businesses, the more likely they were to rise with the said business, if it ever did. Rising meant more money, more money meant freedom from their debts, but…

The rival of their fathers was very determined to keep them indebted as long as he could. Therefore as soon as the two young men got hired, the said rival approached their company with warnings and half threats, eventually forcing the company to fire the two. Atemu and Seth were by appearances forever bound in simple low pay jobs, but even so they never gave up hope.

"Hm…" Yugi leaned back. He had build the company to help Atemu and Seth, so it was given that he would hire Atemu - and perhaps urge Atemu bring Seth into it too. It brought forth the question of how handle the whole helping thing. He couldn't exactly just hand them a stack of money, could he? Hiring them was ideal thing, and as the company would become profitable he could raise their wages, but…

Then Yugi got an idea. He wasn't going to stay on this planet forever. After he would have done with helping Atemu and Seth, he would maybe travel around, take samples of all possible life forms… and eventually he would leave. And what would happen to the company then? Letting it collapse would just be a pity. Logically thinking, Mahado would be the one to take up presidency, but if Yugi got Atemu and Seth on board… he could just leave the company to them. By that time the company should've been successful enough to provide them with everything they wanted.

Focusing his eyes back to the tanned man who had some months ago paid unwitting visit to his ship, Yugi tilted his head to the side. "Do you even know what my company works on?"

"Electronics," Atemu answered. "I know a thing or two about them, that's why I came. If I just could get a part time job then --"

"Shush, no need to try and convince me," Yugi raised his hand with a gentle smile and stood up. "Come with me and I'll show you. Electronics as you know them aren't exactly what we do."

Confused, Atemu followed him out of the lounge area, through a corridor, down a stairs and into the laboratory where Mahado was just making an experiment with the life feed. While Jono posed to the cameras, beside him a life hologram mimicked his actions about half second later. Atemu froze at the sight and stared at it with dumbstruck look while the creator of the company stepped forward.

"How is it coming?" Yugi asked as he walked towards his two workers - though Mahado was more like partner than worker.

The long haired technician looked up with a smile. "So far so good. There is still some delay in the feed, but we managed to shrink if from two seconds into one-point-forty-six. I'm positive I can cut it in half before the day ends." Mahado glanced at Atemu curiously before looking at Yugi with raised eyebrows.

"This is Atemu," Yugi introduced his specimen, who was looking at Jono, then at the hologram and then at Jono again. "He is asking for a job. I thought that it was best to give him a preview of what he would be getting into."

"Hm," Mahado nodded. "A good idea. This invention of yours isn't something you believe unless you see it. Though, do you think it's wise to bring someone you don't know here?" there was a bit of teasing in the man's words. "Ever heard of industrial spying?"

"Oh, shush," Yugi waved the very notion aside, knowing that Atemu despised such things. He glanced at the soon to be worker over his shoulder. "He has a good aura about him and we will need more workers soon."

Finally overcoming his shock, Atemu pointed at the hologram. "Is that…?" he asked hesitatingly.

"A hologram - half-3D hologram actually," Mahado smiled. "Take a good look, because it's the first glimpse of new era for image technology."

"And you created this?"

"It was Yugi's idea," Mahado said.

"But Mahado was the one who made it real. Well, I designed the camera mostly," Yugi nodded.

"And you're going to… sell it to the world?"

"As soon as we've built the factory and got it running, yes," Yugi nodded.

Atemu looked at them desperately. "Please give me a job here," he pleaded as much as his pride allowed him. "I'll do anything, everything, just… please, let me work here."

Yugi chuckled warmly. He knew that this was just the kind of opportunity Atemu had been waiting for; this was Atemu's awaited path away from the confines of his debt. And though Atemu's knowledge of technologies wasn't as extensive as Yugi's or Mahado's, his leadership skills were just perfect. "I wasn't going to say no," the traveller said. "Welcome to the Millennium company." Atemu would be a great president for the company one day.

-

Not many days after Atemu started working as another lab assistant - for now - Yugi was approached by Atemu's father's rival, Zorc. Well, Shadow Realm Corporation's president didn't make personal appearance, but one of his workers did. Bakura wasn't exactly something you'd expect of lackey of a multimillion corporation, but he was someone who certainly fit the company's image. There was nearly nasty air about the white haired man and Yugi decided from the first moment that he needed to thread carefully around him.

"I know that your company is relatively new and young," Bakura spoke, looking around in the lounge area with slight sneer plastered on his face. "And new companies such as this one are very delicate. Without nice steady funding companies like this could fall like house of cards in a wind - not that I believe yours will," the white haired man smirked, showing that it was exactly what he thought. "But even so. At this point reputation is… crucial to you."

"Oh?" Yugi asked, leaning back and watching the man with alert expression.

The man sneered once more, looking at him from top to toe, taking in the completely black and rather simple clothing. Yugi had been raised to not care about how a person looked and it was a teaching which had been enforced by the sights he had seen in his travels, but apparently in this world appearances were quite important. And apparently Bakura thought that he didn't appear to be much.

"Yes. I'm not entirely sure what your company will be doing once it will actually start working, but I know one thing. You do not want man like Atemu working here," the white haired man looked thoughtful. "He has, how should I put it… bad reputation among the businesses of this city. Just having someone like him working for you is a discredit to your company. I'm sure you understand."

And Yugi did. Bakura was being painfully blunt about the reason why he was there. It meant that he and his boss didn't consider Yugi's company in any level important. If only they had known what Millennium was working on, Zorc would've approached him with softer words and better veils. Bakura's bluntness told Yugi one thing very clearly. Shadow Realm was positive that his would be one of those little companies that easily submitted to bullying.

Yugi stifled a smile. He was pacifistic in nature and loathed all sorts of violence, but in that moment he found it beautifully just that Shadow Realm was entertainment business. He was maybe new to this world but he knew well enough that once Millennium would really start working, it would be a serious threat to television - it could eventually even overthrow it entirely. If Shadow Realm would want to survive that change, they would be the ones beneath him - and eventually, beneath Atemu.

"I understand," Yugi answered easily.

"Well, that's good," Bakura smiled curtly and stood up, apparently eager to leave Yugi's humble abode. "I wish you all the best with your company and hope that you won't have to suffer from Atemu's lacking reputation any longer."

"Oh, I'm sure you do," Yugi murmured and watched the man leave. Once he heard the front door shut, he stifled a chuckle. Before it could develop into actual laughter, the door to the hall was opened and Mahado and Jono stepped inside, looking worried.

"You're not going to fire Atemu, right?" Jono asked quickly. "Sure, the guy isn't as brilliant as Mahado or you, but he's a good guy! Really! I'm sure whatever that slimy bastard just spurted out is nothing but lies!"

"Yes. I really can't see someone like Atemu having a bad reputation. He's a good worker and has helped immensely in the factory's planning," Mahado agreed with a nod, looking at Yugi worriedly as the traveller looked at the two of them with soft amusement. "Uh…" the scientist blushed, seeming to realise something. "I'm sorry about eavesdropping, but… we couldn't help it."

"Atemu heard a bit of it too," Jono said quietly. "Stormed out just before the bastard left. Seemed very mad too…" he looked at Yugi imploringly. "Please, boss, don't fire him."

Yugi chuckled and stood up. "I was never going to. Where did Atemu go?"

"To the laboratory, I think," Mahado said with relieved sigh. "I think he honestly believes that you're going to fire him."

"Well, I better set him straight then. You two stay here - and no eavesdropping." With that said he headed after his third worker. He found Atemu sitting at a desk in the laboratory, examining their latest shell design for the hologram projector. The man had a closed up expression on his face, but in his eyes there was a small amount of longing.

"Atemu," Yugi approached the man with steady steps.

"I know," Atemu said with defeated shrug. "It happens every time. I didn't think it would happen this soon, though. Usually it takes a week or two - once even month," he sighed heavily and turned the shell around in his hands. "I know it's not my place to say it, but I wanted so much to be part of this. To be part of something as large as this is going to be. I really am fool, dreaming of such --" he was cut off by a slap to the back of his head.

Yugi smiled to the man who turned to look at him with disbelief, rising his hand to the back of his head. "You are a fool, yes. If you think I'm going to fire you because of what some outsider says, you truly are a fool." Taking a seat beside the now bewildered man. "I'm not going to be intimidated by some larger corporations, Atemu. I know where Millennium will end up, I know what kind of power it will one day wield. And I know that it is your destiny to be part of it."

"But… it's the Shadow Realm!" Atemu sounded shocked. "If you go against them --"

"Then what? There is nothing they can offer me or take away from me," Yugi shrugged. He reached touch to the shell of the projector. "This company and the fruits of our labour are born from nothing. This is technology never seen on this planet and I certainly don't need Shadow Realm, or any other company or corporation to help me. There is nothing they can use against me. Nothing they can use against my company," he smiled a little. "Nothing they can do to stop the change."

"You… are a bit weird," Atemu mumbled. "Why do you keep me around when I can't even help you here?"

"Because I choose to," Yugi smiled brightly and stood up. "By the way, I heard your cousin lost his job. You should bring him here, I'm sure we can find something he can do to help."

"Yugi," Atemu called before Yugi could leave. "I… I didn't ask this before because… hm… Have we met before?" the man looked up with unsure expression. "It feels like I've seen you before this, but I can't remember where."

Yugi blinked. Atemu had to be mentally very strong individual to still have that memory after having memories downloaded and being dematerialised. With a amused sigh, Yugi smiled. "We have," he simply answered and walked away before the man could ask anything more.

-

And so they went forward with the plans. Seth joined their small group as they started to designing the factory - which would also serve as Millennium's main office. Unlike Yugi who believed in sharing, Mahado, Atemu and Seth understood that the technology they would be bringing to the markets was something many would be wanting to get their hands on. They pressed the importance of security until Yugi decided to leave the designing to them. They seemed to know better and if he would've had his head, the building would've ended up looking like nothing out of this world anyway.

So he sat back and watched - and funded. As Jono returned to school, Seth took the reigns of the construction while Atemu started to design their plans for marketing. Realising how good the two were at these sort of things, Mahado decided to remain in the laboratory and let them handle it. While Atemu sketched up the plans, Seth hired architect and construction crew while Yugi bought the loft Seth seemed to want for their business. The constructing itself begun about week later.

"We need to make some announcements," Atemu said one day while he and Yugi were watching the builders create the foundations of their soon to be factory. "Technology doesn't just come out of the blue into markets, it's shown in seminars and fairs and such… we should do something like that and announce what we will be bringing to the markets soon."

"If you think so," Yugi nodded. "Do what you see necessary."

Atemu looked at him thoughtfully. "Do you want to announce the technology yourself? You are the one who made it…"

"No," Yugi's answer was certain. The thought of him being in front of some sort of science community made his ears itch. "One of you will do it. I'll stay out of the spot light."

So Atemu and Mahado begun planning on making the said announcements. Yugi was watching them through the TV when they made the first one in the city's relatively small science fair. For a moment he wondered if it was safe to let Atemu do it, since thanks to Zorc Atemu's reputation was truly poor in the city, but then he decided that it was perhaps one of the best things he could do to Atemu. His specimen deserved all the credit he could possibly get.

Later Mahado told that they had encountered some of Shadow Realm's workers in the fair, who had been quick to sneer at them and tell them to leave and all that. The workers had apparently tried to discredit what ever they would show even before their time had came, but the heads of the science community had certainly been turned around when Mahado had replicated Atemu as a half-3D image and begun explaining it. The silence had been deafening afterwards before everyone in the room had started asking questions.

"So, they liked it?" Yugi asked amusedly.

"Liked it? Yugi, this is completely new technology! Of course they liked it! We're changing the image industry as people know it!" Mahado shook his head in amazement. "Sometimes you just don't seem to realise how big this is."

No, Yugi couldn't really realise it. After all, hologram technology had been part of his life since he had been a toddler. Thankfully this weakness was taken as sort of oddity among the Millennium crew instead of something suspicious. Yugi wondered if his workers thought that he was strange or something, and decided that they probably did… but as they didn't seem to mind Yugi made no effort to change that trait.

According to Atemu and Seth, the rush of people trying to seek work from the Millennium company and future factory after the first seminar was nothing surprising. "This is something people will want to be close to," Atemu said. "Though I think that most of these people are already employed in some other companies and are here to spy."

"It will make hiring a bit difficult," Seth frowned. "We basically can't trust anyone who looks for a job from here."

"We'll just have to search and pick them by hand," Atemu shrugged.

-

The appearance in the seminar rouse another problem. Zorc and the Shadow Realm found that Yugi had not taken Bakura's advice and had not fired Atemu - he had in fact gone further and hired Seth as well. And not just that, but the technology Yugi was making was very dangerous to the company. Already rumours were spinning and they had just gone to one seminar. Shadow Realm knew that Millennium would own the marked once the technology would hit the stores.

This lead to Yugi's second encounter with the white haired lackey of Zorc.

"I see that you didn't understand my suggestion as well as I thought," the white haired man said, now without a glare and with a calculating look about his eyes. "Well no matter, the damage has already been done. It's a real pity though. This technology you have… it could've been great."

Yugi looked at the man blankly, rising a single eyebrow. "You really think I'm an idiot, do you?" he asked bluntly with half disbelief and half amusement. The man honestly thought that he could actually fool Yugi to thinking that the future sales of the hologram technology would go down because of Atemu and Seth and that he was suffering some damages because of the two men.

Bakura glanced at him and coughed with little bit of embarrassment as if realising what he had just indicated. "I'm starting to believe that you really aren't," the man muttered and folded his hands. "So you must realise that the feud between those two and my company won't do you any good."

"On the contrary. It changes nothing," Yugi tilted his head to the side.

"Support of the Shadow Realm would do Millennium lot of good, you know."

"No, not really," the president of the Millennium shook his head. "Millennium will not have partners and Millennium needs no partners. I know what I have, Bakura. Would you be willing to share it with some other company if you'd had what I have?" he looked at the man steadily. Yugi did believe in sharing, but this was a totally different matter than those he had encountered in his home world. And his workers had been unwittingly educating him about how greedy people could be in this world. "Does Shadow Realm share their inventions with other companies, hm?"

"Point to you," Bakura murmured with a frown.

"You know as well as I do what will happen from here on," Yugi folded his hands. "What will happen to the entertainment business once the projectors hit the market. And there is nothing you can do to stop it. You come here to try and discredit my employees, you come here with very crude attempts of creating some sort of contract, but sadly you are barking the wrong tree. And not just that, but do you even know what you are doing to your company, antagonising with mine?"

Bakura grimaced and turned to leave. As the man stormed out, Yugi smiled after him. "It's just the circle of nature, Bakura. As the environment changes, species either evolve or is replaced by another. If yours cannot accept changes and evolve, it will be thrown aside."

"Ya know, boss," Jono said walking to the room. "You are pretty cool when you want to be."

Yugi chuckled. "You seem to have developed a bad habit of eavesdropping, my friend. Shouldn't you be in school?"

"It's over for the day, though that I'd stop by," the blonde shrugged. "How are things going?"

"Well, I'd think. Seth is doing well with the factory, Mahado is getting ready for some out of country science fair and Atemu is looking for workers. And thankfully, the floor of applicants had diminished some," looking at the blonde, the space traveller looked curious. "How has school been?"

"Boring," Jono moaned. "I want to get back to work. It was fun helping Mahado in the lab and all that - and he is better teacher than any of those I have in school are."

"You know you can stop by here when every you want, Jono," Yugi said to him.

"Yeah, I know but it's not the same as spending all day here," the blonde sighed mournfully. "I don't like school anyway. No one there seems to like me. I'd rather be here, among friends"

Yugi frowned worriedly. "That person who beat you when we met… he hasn't been giving your rough time, right?"

"Oh, him? No, he graduated, so no worries," Jono made a casual motion with his hand as if dismissing the notion as unimportant. "I'm still the punk of the school, though. It isn't too surprising, though. Before I met you I wasn't exactly model student - still am not, but… now I'm at least trying to do better. So that you'll hire me again next summer."

"Of curse I will," Yugi chuckled. "Jono, you've been part of this establishment before it even had a name, you were the one who gave me the idea. Of course you'll come work here."

Jono grinned back to him, his confidence returning. "Shall we go bother Mahado?" he asked, nodding towards the laboratory.

"Yes, let's," Yugi answered with a smile.

-

While the company was taking shape and the work was mostly divided between Mahado, Atemu and Seth, Yugi begun concentrating onto other things. Like to the reason why he had came to this planet originally - enriching his database with all the information he could get of this planet's life forms. It was relatively easy task, one he had practiced many times. All he really had to do was to release his drones upon the world.

The drones were well named, as they looked much like metallic bees. In Yugi's home world, his people used the machines to keep an eye on the environment and species. They had recorders in them and were designed to collect samples of various plants and creatures. Yugi had programmed his drones in way that they would fly around in the world for a while, collecting samples of everything they came across, and the return to the ship with the said samples. From those samples Yugi could then construct hologram models of the creatures by using the DNA. And each time he did that, his databank grew a little.

He was beginning also to harbour a thought of moving on once the sample collecting had been done. He had spend enough time on the planet anyway and he needed to get away before people would start digging into his past and find that he had none. His workers were already wondering where he got the money to fund the company. Jono thought that he came from rich family - he had said so himself once - but Yugi wasn't sure if the others believed that explanation.

He realised, thought that collecting the samples would take a long while. Earth wasn't very big as habited planets came, but it was certainly full. There were life everywhere, hundreds of different plants if not thousands and equally as many creatures - and just animals. The sky was filled with birds and the waters with all sorts of creatures. Even though he had twenty or so drones with capacity of collecting thousands of samples on one run, it would take a while.

If he was lucky, no one would get too suspicious about him until it would be too late.

The construction of the factory moved on in surprisingly quick pace and Atemu found few workers that weren't after the hologram technology. Mahado travelled few times out of the city to other places to present their product in the fairs and seminars. It didn't take long until all of the world knew about the technology in the makes. Many large companies offered to help Millennium with funding and everything else so that they could get partnership, but Yugi declined all of the offers for now. Millennium was his for the moment and it would remain so until he would hand it over to Mahado, Atemu and Seth. The three could then do whatever they wanted with the company.

Shadow Realm was quiet for now and Bakura had made no other appearances either, thankfully. Yet Yugi couldn't help but think that it was only temporary. Zorc seemed to have some deep rooted hate towards Atemu and Seth, so the large corporation probably would start making troubles soon again. Yugi and the Millennium company were probably thorns at the man's side as well.

It was near winter when the factory was finally finished. After careful finishing touches, Yugi, Mahado, Atemu, Seth, Jono and all the new workers held a moderate party in the factory once it was officially finished. Many people congratulated Yugi of his succeeds, but Yugi congratulated his three workers. To him it felt like he had only given the idea and the three men had made it into reality.

Then the mass production begun. There was a enormous demand for the machine already and they hadn't even established the prices yet. The price of their products was a bit of a pickle. They knew that they could make the machines as expensive as they wanted and people would still buy them, but they also knew that to get more people buy it they couldn't make it too expensive. Yugi withdrew from these discussions since money wasn't his strong suite and hoped that his workers came into some kind of agreement.

But then, little after Christmas, Atemu and Seth begun to act strangely. Yugi noticed it immediately; since he knew Atemu's mind through and through it was very easy for him to tell when the man was acting off. Yugi's two workers begun sending each other strange looks and seemed worried and at the edge most of the time. At first Yugi thought that maybe their financial matters had roughened up, but quick hacking through the network told that they were fine. Before Yugi could try and find more, though, Atemu came to him.

"Seth and I want to quit," the man said with blunt edge in his worlds and tenseness about his being. "As soon as possible."

Yugi looked at the man with shock. Then he found himself snorted. "Request for resignation denied," he said just as bluntly, not about to let the two go when they were to be the future heads of the company. "Was there something else?"

"Yugi," the man frowned. "Please. We want to quit. You can't keep us here."

"Don't be ridiculous, you don't want to quit," Yugi said with a bit sharper edge in his words. "You love working in this company - heck, Seth's having the time of his life running the factory. The last thing you want to do is leave. I don't know what kind of prank this is, but I'm not having it."

"I'm serious," Atemu's frown darkened.

"So am I," Yugi stood up from his seat, looking at the man seriously. "You two belong to this company and you are not going anywhere. Now, where is this sudden urge to quiet coming, hm? I bet it has something to do with Shadow Realm." Atemu shifted guiltily. "I knew it," Yugi narrowed his eyes. "They couldn't get to me so they're going to you. What are they doing, threatening the company? Didn't I already say that there is nothing they can do to Millennium."

"No," Atemu bowed has head. "They're threatening you."

"What?"

"Bakura said that Zorc will have you killed unless Seth and I quit," Atemu spat. "He does have the resources for that - and it's not like man like him has qualms about killing. He can do it, Yugi. As much as I like working in the Millennium, I don't want you do die. Not after all you've done for me - for us."

Yugi looked at him with surprise and then with amusement. "So… you're trying to quit because of me? I appreciate the sentiment, I really do… but no. You're still not going anywhere."

"He'll kill you, Yugi!"

The president laughed. "I'd like to see him try."

Atemu frowned with half worried and half desperate look about him. "I know you're wealthy and probably have people working for you other where too, but no man is indestructible."

No, but some men wore indestructible clothing and had personal shield generators, Yugi thought amusedly while stepping towards the man. "Do you know why I originally came up with the idea of Millenium? Why I wanted to create it? Well, of course you don't I never told it to anyone. Well, Jono knows half of it, but other half has something to do with Shadow Realm. See, Shadow Realm did something rather nasty to a person I know and hold dear. Millennium is a way to help that person, but it has also gotten another meaning. Through Millennium I can pay back in kind," he smiled tightly. "I will not be intimidated this near my goal. And I will not have my workers intimidated either.

"You and Seth are going nowhere. You will remain working for me until I'm no longer in this company," Yugi said softly, and held his hand up to stop the man's objections. "No, no more arguments. Go back to work and leave Shadow Realm to me, Atemu. I'll handle them."

-

Yugi then made contact with Bakura, telling the man that maybe it was high time for him to meet the president of the Shadow Realm. Bakura seemed suspicious and in the same time somehow delighted, and was quick to arrange the meeting. Yugi made note of the fact that the meeting would take place in Shadow Realm's office - in enemy territory, sort of speak. It didn't matter though. Yugi had studied the technologies and especially weapons of this world for long enough to know that as long he had the body suit on, nothing could harm him here. Super cool temperatures and void of air maybe could've, but he didn't think that Zorc had the means to achieve that kinds of situations in his office.

And so Yugi entered the enemy territory, protected by invincible personal shield and the strengthening settings of the suit. Right then he could've jumped down from the roof of the eighteen-story building and made his way through the concrete walls, and he wouldn't have even broken a sweat… so he wasn't worried about the burly bodyguards looking him down their noses with their knuckles crackling.

Since Yugi hadn't seen Zorc before he had held no expectations, but the dark man still was a surprise. He had night black hair and strangely gleaming eyes - and, like Yugi, the man was only dressed into black. But unlike Yugi whose clothing over the full body suit were rather casual, Zorc wore a expensive looking suit. And just by the look of the man's face, Yugi could tell that there were even Bakura was a good person in comparison to Zorc.

"So you are the president of this little Millennium company," Zorc's smile was almost like grimace and for some reason Yugi got the impression of a growling predator when the man flashed his teeth at him. "Not quite what I expected but Bakura did tell me not to hold high hopes."

Yugi's eyebrows rose at these words. Well, this man certainly wasn't wasting his breath even trying to be polite. Narrowing his eyes, Yugi rethought of his plan. He wasn't sure if by sticking to the original one was a good idea right now. This man was simply too… dark. He would have to resort to force… which would possibly blow his cover, but it was high time to leave this planet anyway. He could come back later and collect the rest of the samples if his drones weren't ready yet.

"So. What brings you here?" the president of the Shadow Realm leaned back in his seat.

"I had an idea of what I was going to say to you… but it flew out of the window just now," Yugi said calmly and eyed the man thoughtfully. Then he glanced at the two large bodyguards standing at each sides of the door and Bakura who was looming behind Yugi with a grin. "Seems like you lead a very well protected life," Yugi pointed out, his eyes lingering in the handguns strapped to the sides of the bodyguards.

"Well, I do have many enemies," Zorc seemed almost proud about it.

"Indeed," Yugi turned his eyes to the man. "Making one out of me was a mistake, though."

Immediately the bodyguards reached for their guns, but as Yugi made no move to do anything, Zorc merely smirked. "Oh really? And what can the likes of you do? Hologram me to death?"

Yugi smiled. "You have the delusion that holograms are my only technology," he said calmly and begun to approach the desk with calm steps. "How cute."

One of the bodyguards barked him to stop and keep his distance but he didn't listen. When Yugi continued to walk, the said bodyguard pulled out his gun. "Stop or I'll fire!" Again Yugi didn't listen, merely stepped forward. Before him Zorc grimaced and nodded sharply to the bodyguards. A bang echoed in the office… but Yugi merely stepped forward.

"What the…?! Shoot him again!" Zorc yelled. Yugi could hear the other guard to pull out a gun too, and then gunfire echoed in the office loud and cacophonous. Yet it had little effect in Yugi.

Yugi chuckled, now standing before Zork's desk with the back of his jacked torn open by bullet holes and useless pumps of led raining down from underneath the fabric. "There is nothing you can do to stop me," the travelled said calmly, taking a hold of the large wooden desk. Then, as if it was nothing but a cardboard box, he lifted it, whirled around and threw it at the guards. Bakura managed to get out of the way in time, but the desk crashed against the two other men, pinning them against the wall.

Stepping forward and now face to face with the rival of Atemu's deceased father. Zorc wasn't looking all too certain now. Bowing his head to get his face to the same level with the man, Yugi smiled. "You have no idea who you came after when you begun threatening my employees. You know, I don't usually like violence but I do protect mine, and Atemu and Seth are currently mine. And so here I am, protecting them."

With a grimace Zorc pulled out a black hang gun and aimed it right between Yugi's eyes. "Die!" the man roared and shot. But the slug never even pierced Yugi's skin, just stopped against the shied coating the traveller's skin before falling down. "How the hell are you doing that?!"

"By the magic of technology, Mr Zorc," Yugi smiled and took the gun non too gently into his own hand. Then he crushed it into useless piece of metal right in front the man's face. Showing the crumpled metal to the socked man, Yugi raised his eyebrows. "I could kill you right now and it would be very easy. But I won't because this is merely a warning. You come after me and mine again and I'll come after you. And this time you should know there is nothing you can do to stop me."

Straightening his back, Yugi threw the useless metal away. "This is evolution, Zorc. This is how the species develop. I am more evolved than you are. You can either accept this and try evolving with me… or you can try and stop it and die doing so. The choice is yours. I'm sure you understand."

Zorc swallowed and nodded. Yugi nodded curtly in answer and turned to leave. He spared a glance at Bakura, who immediately took a step backwards, before heading towards the door. Since the desk was in the way, he easily hoisted it up and placed it aside, causing the now unconscious guards slump to the floor. Then, for a moment feeling satisfied, he left.

But really, he should've known better than to do something as stupid as resorting to violence. Even if he wouldn't have actually killed the man - he never had and never would kill anything - the damage was done the moment he left the building. Because after that encounter, Zorc lost interest in ruining Seth's and Atemu's life. After that, he decided to concentrate onto Yugi.

-

It happened when Yugi was - in secret - sketching out the plans for his upcoming resignation and Atemu's, Mahado's and Seth's rise to control. Just when he was pondering if he should name them all as equal parties of make one of them the president, a enormous explosion shook the factory. Quickly recovering from the surprise, Yugi rushed first to the window to see if he could see the source of the noise. Then he quickly ran out of his office and to another window in the other side of the building. There he saw that one of the two warehouses housing the final products was in flames. Then, before he could even rush out to see if someone was hurt, another explosion followed and roaring flames engulfed the other warehouse as well.

Gasping, Yugi rushed into motion. He made his way down from the fourth floor in records of time to see that some of the workers along with Seth and Atemu were already at the yard. "Was there anyone inside?" He asked as soon as he was in hearing range.

"N-no, not that we know of," Seth answered with shaken voice, holding to a phone. "I called the nine-one-one, they should be here soon."

"Not soon enough if there is someone inside there," Yugi muttered and before Atemu or Seth could say anything against it, Yugi hurried towards the burning storages. His hand slipped into his left sleeve and the personal shield clicked on just as he rushed into the fire. "Is there anyone in here?!" he called out over the roar of flames, looking around as quickly as he could. Thankfully only the products seemed to be in the storage. After making sure of it, Yui headed towards the another storage, which was slightly emptier than the first one. And there, lying slumped on the ground, was one of the workers who had apparently been delivering more of the boxes into the storage.

Without wasting a moment, Yugi turned the strengthening mode of the suit on, and grabbed the man into his arms. As his personal shield expanded to include the man, he hurried out of the flames. Seth and Atemu, who both seemed to be shocked by his stunt, stared at him in shock as he hurried towards them before moving into action. Yugi didn't pay any attention to them as he lowered the unconscious worked to the side and quickly checked if the man was still alive. He was, but the pulse was faint and he had some severe burns.

While Seth called for an ambulance, Atemu kneeled beside the worker. "Is he alive?" the man asked.

"Yes, for now," Yugi nodded, keeping his hand over the man to keep the shield on him. One of the properties of the shield was filtering effect on the air, and right now the man needed as clean air as possible. In his mind Yugi cursed the fact that there was so many people near and he couldn't use the scanner to check the man to see how bad his condition was.

"Are you alright?" Atemu asked and then blinked. "Why did you do something so stupid in the first place?! You could've died!"

"I'm alright, don't worry," Yugi motioned the man's worries aside. "It'll take more than little bit of fire to kill me." He looked up to Seth. "How long will it take for the ambulance to get here?" he asked.

"They say five minutes," Seth said, looking down to the worker worriedly before looking up to the burning warehouses. "So… a bomb? Someone out there apparently don't want us to launch the holotech as we planned…"

Yugi nodded with a dark frown, knowing exactly who had been behind the attack. Apparently Zorc didn't take threats any better than he did. 'You went too far this time, Zorc. Threats and words are one thing, this is more serious. I had hoped that you would be reasonable and back down, but now… now things will be different. You're a dam holding back the river and I can't have it. Only flowing waters stay fresh, stagnant waters rot. The dam needs to be broken.'

It was this attitude which had gotten him banished from his planet originally.

-

The worked was rushed to hospital and the company's health benefits, which Atemu had apparently drafted up at some point, paid for the operations needed. As the news reported the incident, Yugi got quite the reputation. Not only had he created new technology, but he had rushed into burning building to save one of his workers, saving the man's life. If his workers had been proud of working in Millennium before, they were practically bursting now.

Yugi cared about this very little. Zorc had nearly killed one of the people working under Yugi, and the traveller was currently blinded by anger. He knew that he couldn't go about revenge in legal manner, so he decided to go about it in very illegal way. He had many, many means of delivering his revenge, but he decided to go about it in true guardian way. If Zorc threw fire at him, Yugi answered with water. By using knowledge learned in earth and the machinery only he had access, he tampered with the water lines leading into Zorc's head quarters and quite literally flooded the entire building.

Unlike fire, water can be cut of by a single switch in the water plant, but it helped Zorc very little as every tab, toilet and sink begun spurting out masses of water. Most of the rooms were flooded within minutes. By the time the water was cut, all the man's electronics had been literally sunk. And then Yugi made his appearance before the man.

"Do you really want to fight me, Zorc?" he asked from the drenched man. "You attack me and I'll attack you back. That's the way these things work, isn't it? is that really what you want?"

"I'll get you back for this!" the man growled.

Yugi blinked. "You do want to fight then. Well, I don't," he stepped forward. Pulling back his sleeve, he hit few buttons of wrist console before placing his hand over the man's head. Bright red light flashed from his hand and shot to the man's head. "Sleep well," Yugi said sadly as the man slumped to there ground. Zorc wasn't dead, but he would never wake up. He was as good as braindead and now technology on earth could heal him.

"With this, the stupid feud should be over," Yugi sighed and left. Maybe now he could settle the affairs and leave in peace.

-

"What?" Atemu jumped up, staring at Yugi with shock while Mahado opened and closed his mouth with shock and Seth just stared at him with wide eyes. "You're handing the company over to us? Why in god's name? Because of the explosions?"

"No, I think I've been planning this from the start," Yugi leaned back in his chair. "I never really meant to remain with this company for long. The plan was to get it running and leave and I'm sticking to that plan. The explosions happened just before I could announce this to you, but they will not stop be from going ahead with this plan."

"But… you're Yugi! You created this company! You can't just leave like that!" Atemu argued.

"Yes I can. Now, I've made all the necessary arrangements. I'll leave you enough money for repairs, but I think you maybe should take up some of the funding offers we've been getting - otherwise the launching might turn out problematic --"

Yugi would continued, but was stopped as Atemu stepped towards him and grabbed a hold of his jacket, tugging him roughly up. "What are you saying? You won't let us leave and then you desert us yourself?" the man growled at him with dark eyes. "What kind of logic is that?"

"Please, Yugi," Mahado spoke, standing up as well. "You created this company. Why are you leaving us?"

Yugi glanced at him before levelling Atemu with steady stare. "Let go of me, Atemu," he said calmly. The man grimaced but released his collar. Calmly Yugi straightened the fabric of his jacket. "I need to move on. I'm just passing through here and I was never planning on staying. I've done what I meant to do, the rest will be up to you. I'm sorry to leave you just after the explosions, but I know that you can rebuild the storages just as well without me."

"You can't leave," Atemu muttered with denial in his eyes. "You can't, Yugi."

"Everyone leaves at some point, Atemu. That's life," Yugi answered calmly and handed him a piece of paper. "You all need to sign this."

"I won't," Atemu said with a shake of his head. He slammed the paper to Yugi's chest and stalked back to his seat, sitting with huff and folding his hands angrily.

"Me neither," Mahado said with a frown, sitting back down and looking away with slight bit of betrayal in his eyes. "You need to stay here, as the president of this company. I won't sign that document if it makes you leave."

Yugi looked at the two of them for a moment. He sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. He had never thought that the two of them would get so attached to him. He had never meant to stay, he should've made that clear to them… but apparently he hadn't. Well, it didn't change his decision. Turning to Seth, he looked at the man imploringly. "I will leave, make no mistake about that. And this company will stay behind. I had hoped that it would stay in the hands of you three… but if not then I will give it to someone else. Please, Seth. At least you be reasonable."

The director of the factory sat still for a moment, before glancing at Mahado and Atemu who were both looking at him with sharp eyes. Then, much to Yugi's relief and the disappointment of the two others, the tall man stood up and walked to sign.

"Traitor," Atemu growled at him as he wrote down his signature.

"We have a large debt to be paid, Atemu. This way I can pay it, and we can be free," Seth reminded him with hard calmness. "And you can see it in his eyes. Yugi won't hear us, he will leave regardless. The least I can do is to abide by his final order."

Yugi nodded with thankful smile while Atemu turned to look away and refused to meet anyone's eyes. And thus Seth became the new president of the Millennium company.

-

Random update is random. With this the story is almost finished. There was still supposed to be big confrontation with Bakura waving a gun around, Atemu getting shot, people finding out that Yugi is an alien... and stuff like that. But I sort of lost interest in continuing this when I botced Zorc's highly anticlimatic defeat. I fail at writing companies.

I wonder, should I update the two measly (and very weird) chapters of Horror/Vile existance here...?

My apologies for possible grammar errors and such.


	10. Destiny's Unwanted

**Destiny's unwanted**

4th of June, 2004

It's strange that he isn't there anymore, my other self. It's been a few weeks since he passed on, but I still keep trying to fiddle with the puzzle that just isn't there and every now and then I turn to look over my shoulder to ask him a question or waiting for some advice… only to realise that he isn't there anymore. And that he's never going to be.

I know it's a bit selfish for me to wish this, but I wish he had never left. I'll never get adjusted to being without him. Sure, he wasn't there for long exactly, three years or so, but even so… it felt like forever. It felt like it _should be_ forever. But it wasn't meant to be like that and now I'm just feeling guilty for feeling like this. I know he wanted to pass on. Dead belong to the afterlife after all.

My only comfort in this is that I'm not the only one who misses him.

* * *

1st of August, 2004

There was a magic demonstration in the television today. It was one of those spoon bending things, though this guy… he didn't see fake. He wasn't even touching the spoon, a member of the audience was, and still the thing twisted into curls when he just glared at it. And then it floated back to him.

It was sort of cool thing to watch but for some reason… I don't know. Something felt off about the whole thing. Not that it was fake, but that it was real. It really seemed so real. But… no one would perform _real_ magic in television, right?

* * *

2nd of September, 2004

Ugh, school. It's pretty strange to actually go to school and study like a good boy after all we've be through. It seems so… normal. And boring. We've been fighting gods and demons, and then we go back to _school_? Seems like huge set back somehow.

I know that I'm not the only one feeling this Jonouchi keeps falling asleep during lessons and so does Honda despite all his efforts against it. Anzu kept drifting off too and Otogi is playing with his dice all the time to keep himself entertained. Even Kaiba seems bored. And me? I'm finding that my school books are lot more comfortable than they look like.

I don't think the teachers agree with our mindset though. But it's really hard to concentrate to this everyday stuff. I'm adjusted to more… exciting things. Oh well, we still gotta do it. It' better to graduate and get it over with rather than stay behind a year. We're in our last year too, I'm sure we'll make it through. Crawling half asleep if we have to.

* * *

12th of October, 2004

There was another magic demonstration, this one in foreign program. A woman showed how she can move things with her mind. She made all sort of things float and move around in the air - even water which I think would be pretty hard fake.

And I hear that the ones I've seen so far aren't the only ones - it's happening all over. Psychics and such appear in television and live performances and demonstrate their powers to adoring audiences. There are even true seers and fortune tellers popping up - and I think it's making the Ishtals more than little edgy. I'm a big edgy too. Something just…

This is getting weird. I know that there is magic out there, I cannot _not_ know after all that happened to me. But all my life that magic has always seen… hidden, veiled, unseen. _Secret_. Why are these people coming out like this now?

* * *

2nd of December, 2004

Half a year now. It's been about half a year since Atemu left and the Millennium Items were buried. It feels like it was _ages_ ago, and yet… I still keep turning around to look over my shoulder, expecting to see his spirit there. And every time I don't see him, I feel somehow alone. After getting adjusted to sharing my thoughts, it's so strange being alone with them

Heh. I got to be the only person on earth who feels like his thoughts aren't supposed to be private.

In other news, Jonouchi and Mai started dating. Well, they're sort of "going out for coffee every now and then" but to me it looks like dating. Also, it looks like Honda and Shizuka might have something going on. Well, good luck to them either case.

* * *

14th of January, 2005

They finally made official announcement. Most of the "psychics" that have been appearing lately aren't fake, they are actually real psychics with real powers. Except I don't call them that because I know what these people are better than anyone.

They're magicians, true magic users.

In the ancient times there were magicians around, as much as I know. Mahado, Mana… Dark Bakura and Atemu, they were all magic users. Pretty powerful ones too. So for a while now I have not only believed but known that magic did exist. But for as long as I've known that, I've thought that it exist_ed_ and doesn't anymore. I thought it faded or became obsolete I thought that people forgot… I thought it was locked away somehow.

I guess magic hasn't died like I suspected. This makes me really nervous thought. These people aren't like Atemu and Dark Bakura. They don't need items and they don't practice caution and secrecy. Instead these people fling they powers about in demonstrations. They're careless and, dare I say it, fame hungry.

Well, as long as demonstrations are all they do…

* * *

20th of March, 2005

Wohoo! High school is finally over!

Though, it makes me kind of sad. Anzu is still seriously thinking about heading to United States to study dancing and all that. Honda already has university picked up and so does Bakura, they've both been studying up like mad for the entrance exams. Jonouchi is going to take year off, get a job and apartment of his own - Shizuka is thinking of moving in with him. Otogi is going to take year off too before continuing studying. And who knows what Kaiba has planned.

Still, it feels like we're breaking up. Well, after all we've been through I don't think we could break up completely, but even so… we're all going out separate ways to chance our separate futures. And, other than Kaiba and Otogi who have their companies to take care off, it seems like I'm the only one who's going to continue on the gaming business. I'm going to study game designing and such - after a year's worth of break.

Well, we're not breaking up if I have anything to do with it. I'm going keep touch with everyone as much as I can, even Kaiba even though he's an unfeeling prick at times. The things we went through, they would feel so meaningless if we will just move on and leave each other behind. And I can't have that.

Atemu feels closest to me when I'm close to my friends. So I'll hang on as long as possible.

* * *

12th of June, 2005

There is a magic demonstration being held in Tokyo, a pretty big one, where five different magicians will display their talents to a live audience and such. We're thinking of going to check it out, me and the others. Even Ryou and Honda, though they're really busy with studying and stuff. I'm not sure if it's really wise to go and see, but in the same time I am curious about these magicians… I want to know if they're anything like the magicians I've known.

* * *

15th of June, 2005

Yeah, they're real. Though these magicians aren't like Atemu and Dark Bakura but rather like Mahado and Mana. They tried not to show it while making the demonstration - one of them even had a veil over her face to hide it - but I could tell that they were mumbling spells. These people aren't just using the powers of their minds, nope.

And what more, they aren't just a recent appearance. These people are _learned_ magicians, which means someone has had to teach them - and someone has had to teach the people who taught them. Are all the new magicians like this? Why didn't we hear about them before? And just how many are there and how long have they been out there?

Have they been hiding before? Why did they start making appearance now? I could have handled this much better with my other self here. He would have known what's going on…

* * *

16th of August, 2005

Seems like Anzu didn't make it to the school in United States to which she wanted to go to. She sent an audition tape there along with whole lot of papers, but it wasn't approved. I'd feel sorry for her if she wasn't so determined to get in next year. She's planning to take lessons and study hard dancing so that her audition will get her through next year

I hope that she'll make it next year. She seems to want it a lot - but then again, it's no wonder she's been dreaming about it almost as long as I've known her.

Ryou and Honda thought got to the universities they wanted to get to. Ryou's going to study history and mythology and stuff - he's still into that historical occultism and all. Honda on other hand wants to work with motorbikes and such, wants to learn how to repair them and tune them and so forth.

Jonouchi finally got a job, too. He's working as an assistant in a grocery store. It seems like simple job, but he seems satisfied enough so I'll just wish him luck.

As for me, I'm helping around the game shop like I usually do. We just got a new patch of Kaiba's new games and they're going fast. Kaiba's products are getting more and more popular, but considering that he's the only hologram game manufacturer it's no wonder. It makes me wish I had applied for college this year and had started learning game designing. Oh well, it will wait for me.

* * *

7th of November, 2005

Grandpa slept away last night. What on earth will I do now…?

* * *

9th of November, 2005

Thank you gods for giving me such good friends! Everyone has been so supportive and helpful. Anzu and Ryou are helping me with organising the funeral and Otogi has even promised to help me with the game shop. He has experience with things like that so I think his help will help me keep the shop still going. Though it seems that I need to forsake my plans for the university, but oh well. Managing the shop will keep me fed and busy so I suppose it's alright.

Besides with person like Kaiba around, I could never be a successful game designer anyway. It could have been fun though.

Jonouchi has taken in staying at my place for night. My place, how weird that is to write, but I guess the shop is _my_ place now… anyway, he's been staying over and helping me. I think it's his way of comforting me and I gotta admit, it is helping me to have someone around. Being alone at home all the time would be a bit… weird.

I think I should hire him as shop assistant. He hasn't had much to do since he lost the last job he had. And he could just stay in the guest room if he wants to, that would ease his problems with bills…

* * *

23rd of December, 2005

Looks like I'll manage to keep the shop open, thank god. It's still bit of a stretch to understand it all, but thankfully Otogi's been helping me out. And with Jonouchi around I don't have to do that much. He likes tending to the shop - and despite everything, he's pretty good at it, at the whole selling thing.

I think our former fame with the whole duel monsters tournaments is helping too. And Mai's a main attraction to some of the male customers - she's been coming around pretty often after Jonouchi started living with me. Those two have moved a bit past "just coffee", methinks, but I'm happy for them.

Oh well, at least I'm not bored around here.

* * *

12th of July, 2006

There was a major incident today. All the media are practically screaming about it. After so many years since… a nuclear bomb was dropped. This one at Lebanon, pretty close to the Lebanon-Israeli border. As far as I can tell there was some conflict with kidnapping and killing of soldiers than then just… boom. The entire place was levelled.

Of course, that's far away from here and barely affects us, but still makes me think. Things have been getting more and more… nervous in the Middle East. And it's not like this is the first of horrible incident, just the most horrible ones. Every day, the foreign news are going on about some car bombs and suicide bombers and such. Seems like not an hour goes by without something blowing up there.

* * *

14th of August, 2006

The incident at Lebanon wasn't caused by a nuclear strike. A magician from Lebanon did it - it was a suicide explosion that took out Israeli troops that had just invaded the Lebanon ground… it's pretty complicated, but the gist of it is that a single magician levelled several square kilometres all by himself and took out punch of people while he did it. And he only used magic to do it.

The whole thing is all over the news now and people are really getting mad. There's a whole public outrage and people… aren't really happy with magicians. All over people are demanding magicians to come forth about the destructiveness of their powers and people are asking for some security measures - something to make sure that no magicians can go blowing things up like happened in Lebanon…

I have a feeling this is going to get ugly.

* * *

17th of August, 2006

There have been more than few incidents with magicians at United States. People are getting all prejudiced against magicians because of what happened at Lebanon and with people of USA being like they are… well, they don't exactly show it in complaints. And so far the magicians haven't merely told them to politely go away.

And United States isn't the only place this is happening. There have been lot of magicians popping up in China that have been given no sympathy or kindness. And especially in the Middle East things are heating up. A lot. People hunt these magicians, calling them unnatural and evil trying to kill them… and of course the magicians protect themselves.

But there is something else too, something worse. The magicians could end these conflicts peacefully but… they don't event try. The more I read about these news the more I get the impression that most of these magicians are looking for a fight.

It's happening in Japan too, though not as severely. Several public magicians have been questioned and there I nervousness around. Thankfully we haven't seen any magicians here at Domino… not yet anyway…

* * *

21st if August, 2006

Well, it's official now. World is coming to an end. Kaiba Seto announced today that he believes in magic. Or at least that he knows it exists.

I was wondering why I hadn't heard much of him in last few weeks. He's studying and researching - and it seems that he has had people doing some testing in the areas where magical incidents had happened. And the technology they used in their testing finally did what I and all my friends failed in. They proved that magic exists to Kaiba Seto.

He doesn't seem too happy about it though. I don't wonder. Right now I'm not really happy about it either.

* * *

14th of September, 2006

Anzu isn't going to go to North America after all. She doesn't feel that it's safe with all this stuff going on. Thank gods. I was really worried that she would go and somehow get involved in those incidents. And they keep just happening more and more and getting more violent each day.

There have been lots of deaths in the last two weeks. Lots of destruction. Some magicians have been captured and questioned and so forth, but usually their either break out or they are broken out by the other magicians. They are uniting too, joining their forces against the people who are starting to hunt them. This is really starting to feel like a witch hunt, though it's worse than that. Lot worse.

Everyone is rumouring that United States is going to make the use of hostile, even lethal force against psychics legal. Even though in Middle East and India and now in China they are actively hunting magicians down and imprisoning them - or at least trying to - I think USA will settle the thing. If they decide to use lethal force… many will follow.

Don't they see that more they fight, the uglier this will get?

* * *

3rd of October 2006

Lot of planes have been crashing down lately all over the place. People think that it's magicians that are doing it, but I have another theory. I actually got the theory from Kaiba - he has the actual proof of it too.

I've lost count how many known magicians are out there - in USA alone there are over hundred who are known. With this many people around being able to do magic - and doing it in large quantities as self defence - it's starting to affect technology. Magic and technology don't exactly mix well after all; electronics tend to jam around lot of magic- according to Kaiba anyway.

Planes are delicate things when it comes to disturbances. And there have been lot of disturbances lately. I hope they will stop using them at least until this mess will calm down. The more they fly, the more they crash - and more people will die.

Well, at least others seem to get that part. Air travel isn't exactly popular right now.

* * *

31st of October, 2006

Magicians aren't just self defending anymore. Now they are just causing trouble. And to me it seems that they're mostly causing it for the heck of it. In Britain some young magician derailed a train for no apparent reason, in Germany some magician has been going around smashing building facades with telekinesis, in France some magician is having fun blowing up cars…

And what more, the magicians are now occasionally fighting against each other, and that's so much worse. I think it's only happened once or twice, but there have been battles between magicians in cities. And while fighting they brought everything around them into in ruin. And no one can really do much about it since the devastation they spread keep people from even getting close not to mention about subduing them

This is getting worse and worse by the moment…

* * *

18th of January, 2007

It seems that magicians have finally come to Domino. There was incident today with a female magician who caused some ruckus downtown, boasting with power and scaring the people there. Thankfully nothing really dangerous, but it still worrisome. Especially so since she got away before anyone could do anything about her.

What if there are more of them in Domino…?

3rd of February, 2007

Kaiba's mansion is a fortress these days and so are his corporation buildings and the factories. I've only heard about it from the news, of course, these days it takes something special for him to let anyone not employed in. And, if the walls and the security systems and small army of personal security are anything to go by… it's pretty hard to get in without him letting you.

I guess I'm not only one feeling that things are going pear shaped.

* * *

4th of April, 2007

Ryou and Honda both stopped going to school. It's no wonder; it seems that schools are primary targets for these rabid magicians. Many schools all over the world have been closed down because they're too big of targets. Hospitals and such too.

Ryou has been studying magic a lot lately, too. I think he's hoping to find some sort of self defence against the magicians, some defensive spells maybe. He hasn't had much luck lately, but, as much as the thought of using magic - even as self defence - bothers me, I can't help but hope that he will find something. I think we're going to need it.

Jonouchi, Shizuka and Anzu all live with me now. Mai's been coming around a lot lately too since the neighbourhood where she lives has had so many magician sightings. Honda and Ryou come around more often too. It both relieves me and worries me because I can't help but think that we're a bit defenceless. Unlike Kaiba's mansion, the game shop isn't exactly fortified.

Well, thankfully it's not like anyone's there to specifically come after us. I hope.

* * *

23rd of April, 2007

There was a bigger incident at Domino today. An office building was bombarded and brought down by two magicians who had been somehow offended by the president of the corporation which owned that building. Just little under hundred people died, and over fifty were badly wounded

God this is just so… Why is this stuff happening, and here of all places? And to think that the incident in Domino is small one. Entire towns and city blocks are being _levelled_ other where. Tokyo has had fourteen separate incidents just this month, mostly with magicians fighting each other. And yet even though they kill each other, it seems like there are more of them every day. Like more of them are coming out of hiding.

Why? Why like this, why now, why here… _why_?

* * *

5h of May, 2007

They're putting troops out to the cities where the incidents have been happening. In Domino too you can now see soldiers in the streets. It feels scary even though I know they're there just to stop the magicians from causing any incident but still, somehow… it feels like we're in war or something. Especially since they have _tanks_ out in Tokyo, where the most incidents have been happening.

I'm not sure if it'll help, though. In Tokyo it seems like the magicians have taken this as a challenge - they're targeting the troops and the tanks now. In a way I guess it's good, since the troops are out there to deal with the magicians, but so far they hadn't seem to have much of luck. Probably because the magicians aren't stupid enough to come to plain sight anymore.

This whole ordeal seems to be getting worse and worse each day.

* * *

18th of June, 2007

There has been lot of fuss about self protection in television and news paper. People in America are doing somewhat well because there civilians can carry guns and such for self defence, but that's not how it is here in Japan. Magicians target civilians mostly, and I think it's just because they can't do much to defend themselves. So, now people are demanding chance to the gun laws, so that they can protect themselves…

I'm not sure what to think about this. On other hand, maybe the incidents would lessen, maybe the magicians would think twice, but on other hand… maybe they would just get worse. And carrying guns? That can't lead to anything good.

* * *

6th of August, 2007

The gun laws in Japan were changed at the end of July and now almost everyone can carry a self-defence weapon - and not just tazers no… actual guns. Apparently the troops that are prowling the streets everywhere nowadays aren't enough, and with so many civilians being targeted for no reason…

Kaiba's been telling us to get some weapons, if no other reason then just for the self defence. He says that just by carrying a gun plain in sight can make one of those insane magicians think twice before starting anything. "Sure, their tricks are flashy, but they're only as fast as their spell casting is. Bullets are faster," he said.

I know he's right. And many are now carrying guns - I even saw a woman with two children carrying a handgun plain at sight today. I know that just having one gives some measure of protection, but… I don't think I could ever carry one.

The others are considering it though.

* * *

14th of October, 2007

I got a gun today. It's black and looks rather like a toy, but its lot heavier than it looks - and the twenty bullets it carries are nothing to laugh at. I didn't even want to touch it but I did. It felt cold in my hand. The others got similar guns too when I got mine. I don't think they wanted them either, but… we all still got them. We even shot them at those practice targets at Kaiba's house. Honda was the only one who hit bull's-eye, and I'm the only other who got even close to the target…

Damn it. I don't want this. I do _not_ want to carry a gun and the extra magazines Kaiba insisted we should carry. I don't even want to think about the whole thing. I know that things are turning bad and we need to be able to protect ourselves and each other… But even if it's only for self defence, even if it's just for show, I do not want to even touch a device meant to kill.

…and even so I tied the holster to my belt and I now carry the gun in it. As does everyone else now. I swear I will never use the thing on human. No, I will never even fire it outside Kaiba's firing range.

Damn it… why are things getting like this…?

* * *

23rd of November, 2007

There was a small incident at a mall. I and the others were out to get some new clothing when this young guy came and started threatening people. He could move things with his mind and made a huge mess. I don't think he actually wanted to get anything or even make a hostage situation; he just wanted to cause chaos.

He calmed down when I and others pulled out our guns. Even though I hated the whole situation and I had no intention of firing the gun, it managed to resolve it quickly. Kaiba is right. Despite how strong magic is, bullets are still faster. Unless a magician can cast a shield in fraction of a second and make that shield strong enough to stop the impact, magic is useless against guns. And thankfully it seems that even magicians know this.

The magician was taken away by the police and we were treated like heroes at the mall. The police didn't even want to see our licenses for the guns. Though that's understandable, considering that these days many carry guns and self defensive firearm are getting more popular. And apparently, so are those who carry them.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

* * *

28th of January, 2008

I… shot a human being today. I didn't have a choice, he was trying to kill me, but… damn it.

I have no idea why it happened. This guy comes out of nowhere with a lightning in his hand and just starts throwing it at me, as if I did something to him. But I've never seen this guy in my life! I tried to run away, but he was really fast - and the lightning bolts he kept throwing around were so powerful that anything I hid behind was instantly smashed.

I fired a few warning shots, you know, to make him reconsider the whole thing. But he just laughed and came on stronger until finally I had no choice. I aimed at him. It hit his shoulder.

He didn't die or anything, but the blood loss weakened him pretty quickly - and his aim got shoddy so I managed to sidestep his attacks until he tired. Then he collapsed - but didn't die, I made sure of that. I don't want to kill anyone after all. I bandaged his wounds and tied his hands just so that he couldn't come after me immediately. And then I ran.

I'm both sad and happy that the others weren't there to see. If the others had been with me, I don't think I would've needed to fire that shot at all. But like this they didn't need to see me fire it. I can't believe that I actually shot someone. I harmed another human being… I feel so guilty…

From here on I will make sure not to go anywhere alone. I don't want to shoot someone again.

* * *

5th of February, 2008

Ryou finally managed it. He can perform magic. A little bit anyway, but it's a start. We're hoping that with some study, he'll be able but some protections around the game shop. We have no use for offensive spells or anything like that, but it would be nice to be able to feel a little bit safer at the house. We probably won't stop standing in guard every night, but it would still give some measure of comfort to know that it's not just walls that protect us during the night.

* * *

12th of March, 2008

I get it now. We, me and my friends, we became targets after the mall incident. And I'm even bigger target now that I actually fought back a little. These magicians, they don't seem to like resistance at all. And yet on other hand it seems to amuse and entertain them greatly.

They don't even care about what we did or who we did it to, all they care is that we fight back. Because of that, we have become a sport to them. Amusing opponents, like weaker players in Duel Monster tournament who are picked on by stronger players. It seems to be like that with everyone who fights back - the magicians start hunting them like it's a game. And now they hunt us.

And the more we fight back the harder they come at us. And the more of them show up, the harder we have to fight. It's like a downwards spiral of fighting. Now I'm almost wishing we had left that magician at the mall alone. I don't want to fight…

Ryou still hasn't managed to figure out a good protective spell. I don't want to hurry him, but we need a little extra protection now more than ever.

* * *

3rd of May, 2008

I killed a person today and that's about all I want to say right now.

* * *

11th of May, 2008

Ryou still hasn't managed to come up with a protective spells for the shop, but he has managed to booby trap it, and that's better than nothing. He also has a thought for a new form of magic, but he won't tell us about it right now. "Not until I'm sure it'll work," he says. Well, the booby traps are better than nothing.

Shizuka has also been showing signs of magic. It's not much but we think she might have some ability to heal. Jonouchi says that his bruises seem to go away every time she hugs him, and that's a good sign. If we could have a healer in out little group, then things would get lot easier for us. We're running out bandages anyway.

We need more spell books. What little we have is barely any use. But we have no way of getting any, not unless we would steal some from the magicians. And that… isn't a good idea.

* * *

19th of June, 2008

Anzu killed a person today. Jonouchi killed one last week. And someone will probably die by our hands again in near future.

Now I realise that we can't escape from that. Not if we want to live. They will keep coming until either we are dead, or they are. And in this case, fighting begets fighting. This bloody hunt game will just keep getting worse and worse and I fear that in order to survive, we need to forsake our very souls.

We're not the first ones though. The Kaiba brothers have become targets as well, thanks to the protections of their mansion and their actions in order to protect themselves. Also, it seems that Kaiba has been taking some people under his wing, employing them at the mansion, and most of those are targets of our local loonies as well.

And we're just the ones in Domino. All over similar battles are being wrought between us survivalists and them, the magicians.

I doubt that we are winning.

* * *

29th of August, 2008

The shop is now protected. Ryou came up with a spell of his own that makes it hard for anyone but us to get in. He's trying to work out a way of making stronger; right now a strong magician can easily get through.

Shizuka is also getting better with her healing magic. Ryou's books are no use for her, but she seems to have an instinct with the stuff. It's a good thing since we seem to be coming back home with more bruises and cuts ever other time we go out. Her talents are definitely a god sent in this situation.

I've also been glancing through Ryou's books a little. He has been writing notes of his progress with makes it easier to understand the whole thing. I don't think I have much talent with the whole thing, but I'd like to be able to help fortifying our protections. We need as many of them as we can get.

* * *

16th of September, 2008

Ryou finally revealed his secret magic to us. He thinks he has figured out a way of attaching offensive magic to bullets. Apparently the metal of a bullet, despite how deformed it will get after being fired, could work as a medium for some spells. It wouldn't even need any symbols other than those in the gun itself. The bullet would just need to be manually cast and the spell work would need to be done while the metal is molten.

As weird and as worrisome as the thought is, it also has its perks. Guns are scary only those who really realise the damage they can cause, but if a bullet comes out as wave of fire or water or ice or what ever form of attack is attached to it, it will be a whole lot scarier. Warning shot like that would all that's needed to finish a fight before it even starts

The problem with this is that we'd need revolvers. So far we've been using semi automatics. And with guns being both in high demand and rare in Japan right now, getting a revolver won't be easy.

I think we might need to talk Kaiba about this. He's proven to be in possession of a whole load of guns…

* * *

2nd of October, 2008

We got whole load of revolvers from Kaiba - but only when Ryou promised to give the gunmagic formula to him once it's perfected. Well, it's a fair deal I suppose, but from now on things are going to get a bit harder. According to Ryou, we need to replace bits and pieces of the guns - hammer especially needs to be replaced - and they all have to be carved full of symbols.

We are _so_ lucky that Ryou has talent in these sorts of thing. With his history of game piece making and all that, he apparently even made jewellery to his sister back when she was alive, Ryou knows how to go about this sort of thing.

The bullets themselves seem to be a bit easier to make. Thank gods you can use lead on them because lead can be found just about everywhere. Ryou is also sure that he needs to only put the spells to the molten lead, so in one patch and with just one spell work we can make several magical bullets.

It'll take probably few weeks to make them, but… well, we have nothing better to do. All I can really hope now that once we're done with the guns and bullets, they will actually work.

* * *

14th of November, 2008

It took a while, but we managed to perfect the bullets. And they are even more efficient than we dared to hope. Right now we can only make three types, fire, ice and lightning, but they're more than enough. We even got one magician immediately running after I shot a warning shot with ice bullet - I guess having a horde razor sharp icicles coming at you wasn't what that guy was expecting when he came after us.

This will give us an edge over the magicians, but in the same time… I can't help but think that now we're just like them. We have offensive magic in our disposal. Doesn't that make us magicians too?

* * *

8th of June, 2009

United States is officially done for. It's the Former United States now, current… war zone and that's it. What's left of their government structure concentrates into the hunts for magicians, but that doesn't help much since the American magicians have the same weapons as they do - and more. They can use guns too after all.

To but it crudely, the northern American magicians revel in being hunted. They cut their hunters down like weeds. The soldiers might be able to take down one or two a week, but considering that Former United States is rumoured to be inhabited by six thousand magicians, the odds are more than slightly against them. And they aren't doing a very good job. Only guns "bigger" the former governments have that the magicians don't have are missiles and nukes.

I think the stupidest thing they've done so far was nuking of a town in order to get the sixteen magicians that had rumoured to live there. Well, yeah, they managed to take down sixteen possible malevolent magicians. They also took out the ten thousand people living in the town. Massive Collateral Damage is becoming the term of the day, or so it seems.

* * *

17th of February, 2009

That's it. We're really getting screwed here in Japan, big time. Over the last year, less and less goods have been brought here, shops has closed down - or destroyed - and the products in the few grocery stories that still struggle to exist have been fewer and fewer. And now… the trade is gone completely. The last shipping company finally called quits, unable to handle the attacks anymore. The fact that money means less and less each month also hindered them more than slightly.

What little we can make here, what little food we can produce… it wont sustain what's left of Japan's population. We are going to _starve_. Well, it's not like we're the only ones. All over the world people are starving to death because trade lines are coming down one by one along with stores and such. It's just too dangerous for them to continue. Those who are best off are the farmers and fisherman and such, who produce food and who can eat their own products. The rest of us… not so lucky.

Tight now our only hope here in Domino is the _tiny_ fishing industry that now suddenly became the cream of crop. Even though I loathe eating fish, especially in large quantities, I hope to gods no one tampers with those few fishing boats, since we really need them.

Maybe in future, when things calm down, some around here will take up farming and such…

* * *

19th of June, 2009

According to Kaiba, the last of information satellites were taken down. Earth has lost the last of its communication grid and with all major powers being nothing but war zones these days… there's no one there to put it back up.

I can already see what panic this will cause. Without proper information grid no one will be able to tell what is happening beyond their surroundings. And without that knowledge it's impossible to tell how bad things are going - or if anyone is winning. Without that knowledge… we don't know if the world is really coming to an end or not, and we can't prepare.

Yeah… same downward spiral as always.

* * *

9th of September, 2009

The government of Japan was taken down few days back and the president was killed. Well, it wasn't like they had managed to do anything to help us or protect us or keep order - and we've long since lost any measure of order with the military and police forces long since gone - but it's still a bother. Now Japan has joined one of those countries with no government or leadership. We've became another former country with no law left.

* * *

18th of October, 2009

The power plant was attacked today and the power grid finally went down in Domino. I have no idea how it has lasted this long here - they've been going down everywhere for a long while - but now, finally, Domino is out of power. Only ones who have any power left are those who have some sort of power generators of their own. The rest of us are not so lucky.

Kaiba, naturally, still has enough power to do whatever he wishes. He prepared sickeningly well to everything, I swear it was like he was expecting the worse to happen. Not only does he have enough food stored away to feed a small country, but he has solar panels and wind turbines and who knows what installed to ensure that his mansion won't run out electricity.

The game shop is without power and we have no way of getting it - even if there had been any electronics stores left standing, I doubt they'd have any power generating devices left. But it's alright. We don't need electricity and thanks to the fact that the store is pretty goddamn old, we can heat it up with wood once winter hits. So we're not completely helpless.

We need to somehow fix the boiler though. Showering with cold water isn't much fun. Though I have to wonder how long _that_ will be possible. The quality of tap water has worsened in the last years, but it's still miraculously enough running. I have a feeling that won't last long though.

Well, thankfully the water is ground water and we still have some old wells here and there, so when - and it really is question of when, not if - tap water runs out, we won't die of thirst. Showering will probably become problematic though.

* * *

23rd of December, 2009

Jonouchi and Honda are dead. There was an ambush, they were after Shizuka… She's safe though, got away thanks to others, but… Jonouchi and Honda didn't, they stayed back to make sure that Mai, Anzu and Shizuka got away. And after the girls escaped there was an explosion and… yeah. There wasn't much left.

Gods, this is so messed up. Why did it turn out like this, why them, why like this? Well, they did what they had to do, obviously. Jonouchi wouldn't let Mai and Shizuka die and Honda is just as protective of Shizuka as he is. Was… But still… Just because Shizuka has some measure of power, she's the most wanted among us. And it's not right. The only thing she's really good at is healing. And healing isn't danger to anyone, especially not to _them_.

I don't know what to do but I know what I _want_ to do and that's not pretty. I want to get up and just… shoot someone. Like really shoot them, not just crippling shots like until now, but deathly precision like the one Kaiba uses, right between the eyes. I want to shoot the bastard who killed my best friends. I want to… _end_ some lives so badly that I can barely breathe.

But I'm holding it back. I can't loose it. I need to stay rational for others, even if it means very little right now.

Shizuka is still in shock, can't even speak through her tears. Otogi is trying to comfort her, but it's not doing much good. Of course not, she lost her brother and almost-boyfriend in the same time, that would drive anyone to shock. And Mai… there is really scary gleam in her eyes. I think she's planning to do something really dangerous. Anzu is still hanging on; she's strong gall these days after all, but even her eyes gleam.

They want revenge - and so do I. We're going to get it too. The days of defence are done. Two of us is killed and… yeah. Days of defence are most definitely done.

And the worst thing in it is that I really… don't see anything wrong with it anymore.

* * *

2nd of January, 2010

We got them. We got those bastards who killed Jonouchi and Honda. Two of them, master and apprentice in true Star Wars fashion, they even wore black robes and everything. They were stronger than any of the others we've fought against, but we were prepared and it's surprising how far you can get when you go straight on offence. I think Kaiba might be right; the fact that we've always been mostly defensive has been keeping us down.

Shizuka killed the elder one after I managed to bring him down with shot through the knee cap. Mai took out the younger one by herself. I don't think the revenge brought any of us any happiness, but despite what those valorous people say in books and movies, it was _very_ satisfying.

I have to wonder though… now what? We've crossed a border, we've switched over, we've forsaken our morals… now what?

* * *

10th of December, 2009

Because we couldn't hold proper ceremonies or burials for Jonouchi and Honda, and we can't even build proper shrines for them, we decided to honour them in a… different and more personal way. It took us better part of the last week to hunt down the proper person to do it, but we managed. And now Anzu, Mai, Shizuka, Otogi, Ryou and I all adorn same tattoos in our backs.

Small black dragon for Jonouchi for obvious reasons. For Honda we couldn't think of a good picture, so we went with a phrase, something he said long, long time ago. "In westerns, the hero is always the quiet one." Both tattoos have their birth and death dates included.

Just something to make sure we never forget them…

We also sat down to decide our images in case we die. Harpie Lady for Mai, pair of dices for Otogi, dancer figurine for Anzu, slightly modified Change of Heart for Ryou, and flower with the Caduecus symbol for Shizuka.

Mine was so obvious no one had to actually ask it. Even though it has been so many years, the only symbol I can think for myself is the Millennium Puzzle.

* * *

5th of February, 2010

Mai is dead. She took on an opponent she couldn't beat and paid for it dearly. We buried her just this morning beside what little we found of Jonouchi, just like she wanted…

I wish it hadn't been so predictable. Unlike with Jonouchi and Honda, I don't think anyone of is shocked by this because somehow we were expecting it. Not only are things getting rougher and rougher around here, but she had a death wish going on. She wanted to follow Jonouchi.

If I ever doubted that she loved him I have no doubts now. Goodbye, Kujaku Mai. Take care of Jonouchi and tell Atemu that I… will try to keep the rest of us here for as long as I can.

I'll keep us living as long as I can.

Next up, hunting down a tattoo artist. Mai's harpy should to join Jonouchi' dragon and Honda's words on our backs.

* * *

29th of March, 2010

We had possibly the worst battle yet today. Ryou lost half of his ear and now has enormous scar on the side of his face. I took a shot to my leg, barely kept my fingers, and right now I couldn't grasp a gun to safe my life. Otogi's suffered third degree burns almost all over his body and Anzu… poor Anzu lost her right hand, ruthlessly severed right from her wrist.

It's a miracle we came out victorious from that fight.

Shizuka's been working non stop all evening to patch us up. Otogi's and Anzu's condition is worst so the rest of us are licking our wounds by ourselves. Shizuka's managed to stop the bleeding of Anzu's arm and Otogi is no longer in shock, but god how I wish we'd have some painkillers left. Otogi certainly needs them.

I patched up myself as best as I could - I'm not dying yet, so I can wait for Shizuka to take a little break. I can only hope that the sword I took to my hand didn't sever anything important, though. With Jonouchi, Honda and Mai all gone, and Anzu now left permanently left handed, I _need_ my gun hand. I'm the last proper gunner in our group.

We better lay low for a while. We're no fit to defend ourselves right now. Ryou maybe is but… he's no fighter. I wonder if Kaiba would be willing to shelter us for a while, until we get onto our feet at least…

* * *

1st of April, 2010

I wish someone would pop out from behind some cosmic screen and yell "April's fools" - and then I'd wake up in my bed six years back to realise that all this has been a bad dream, just been some cruel joke played by the gods. Yeah. And if wishes were horses, we'd be eating steak. Though, I have to admit, the canned food at Kaiba's place isn't bad. Sure beats fish.

So, yeah, Kaiba has graciously allowed us to regroup at his mansion. It still surprises me how many people there are in here. Not just his staff, but Kaiba Seto has _refugees_ living under his rooftop. Of course, they all do their part in keeping the fortress of Kaiba Manor secure and ensuring that they have food in their table, but still. Kaiba Seto of all people has taken as many people as his resources allow, to live in his secure little castle.

I bet the world ended years ago but no one told it, so the signs of apocalypse just keep on coming and coming.

We have to pay our stay here, though. Ryou's been making magical bullets non-stop for Kaiba's security. I've been helping as much as I can but my hand is still pretty much unusable. Shizuka on other hand has been taking care of Kaiba's staff - some of them had infections and such. Anzu and Otogi are pretty much as useless as I am - Otogi can't move much and Anzu is too busy trying to figure how to function properly with just one hand.

I think she's worried that loss of her dominant hand will be a hindrance in battle. And to tell you the truth… it probably will be. Well, she still has her almost-karate. Hopefully her kicking ability will compensate for lack of proper gun hand. Hopefully.

* * *

15th of May, 2010

The injuries we received in March finally took their toll. Anzu is dead. And I'm getting _sick_ and _tired_ of burying my friends.

We were fighting a fire user that was having fun setting buildings on fire. We all got scratched and bruised - and more than little burned - before the end, but right as we thought that we finally got him… the bastard blew up. And Anzu was standing right next to him. At least… at least she died instantly and without much pain.

I'm really getting sick of this. There's not many of us left anymore. Just me, Otogi, Shizuka and Ryou. Do I have to bury them too, or will they bury me soon? Well, there are still Kaiba and Mokuba in their fortress and then there are Ishtals though they're in Egypt. But they're better protected than we are…

And another thing. It will be damn hard trying to shoot with one eye. Shizuka managed to heal it pretty well but I'll still have to live with a ruined eye and pretty big burn scar on my face. But that doesn't matter as much as the loss of proper aim. What if I'm not able to hit the right target when it counts the most?

All this crap happening and now this. We lost our best fighter and I lose my aim - and my hand isn't even completely healed yet! As if things weren't hard enough…

* * *

24th of June, 2010

I finally figured it out. It's not about just causing chaos anymore, it's not just about wreaking havoc. The magicians want us gone. All the people who don't have magical background, all the people who don't know spells, us mundane inferior ones. They want all of us dead so that they can live as the sole people in this world.

And they're going about it like it's a sport. I've lost count of the psychotic magicians who believe themselves to be some sort of half gods. Some even believe that it's their fate to eradicate the rest of us, to purify this world for their higher selves.

It makes sense in sickening way that they'd think up something like this.

* * *

1st of July, 2010

Ryou's dead. They finally figured out how we got our magical bullets, and decided to take him out in hopes that we'd lose our edge. I'm happy that I learned the right spells for the bullet casting from him, but that doesn't make me any less sad. Ryou was a good friend and now all we have of him is what he created and another tattoo on our backs.

It's sickening that we're dying this young. We were supposed to grow old and grey together, boast about out grandchildren to each other and watch how Kaiba struggles to out-do himself in game technology creation. Jonouchi and Mai were supposed to get married and have a horde of children. Anzu was supposed to become a dancer. Ryou was supposed to become archaeologist…

But we've buried them all. And now it's just me, Otogi and Shizuka left. I wonder for how long…

* * *

13th of July, 2010

I thank the gods every day for the fact that Kaiba never threw away his father's arm's manufacturing machines. We'd be knee deep in shit if he didn't have the machines for bullet manufacturing. Sure, it took time to adjust them to function the way we wanted them to, but anyhow… they're a lifesaver. Well, for us anyway. Or, as it seems to be mostly these days, for me. Those at the receiving end might not agree with my sentiment.

Anywhere else where people are running out of bullets. Hell, most ran out of them years ago, though some cast their own these days. To be honest, manually cast bullets work better than those manufactured with machines - I cast over half of mine since they're more potent. But anyway, these days I see more swords and knifes than I've seen guns. I think I'm about the only gunner out there without a knife of a sword.

Though… considering how many lives my gunmanship has taken, that's not really nothing to be proud of. Knifes and swords don't kill as ruthlessly and without mercy as guns do, after all. Bullets give little chance for self protection after all. Sadly enough, these days offence is about the only defence people can use. Especially if your magic isn't that good. When you can't throw up any form of magical protection, about the only way to come out of a battle alive is to kill the opponents before they kill you.

I lost count of mine months ago. Heh. These days the fact doesn't even make me sad - though I'm long since drowned and rotten in the guilt.

* * *

2nd of August, 2010

Otogi and Shizuka are dead.

I guess it's just me now.

* * *

14th of August, 2010

I moved to live with the Kaiba brothers. Even though the game shop's protections still stand strong, I'm vulnerable there. And it's a bit useless to keep protecting the place when it's just me - and I can protect myself just fine. So all reasons for staying there have long since become moot.

I'll be working with Seto's security. He doesn't have many in that fortress of his who can use magic after all. I'm not exactly good, but I'm good enough to use gun magic and put some protections, so that's good enough I suppose. The place has become a bit of a target, being the only place left in Domino that hasn't been brought down. It needs all the protection it gets since there are lot of people living in Seto's fortress.

It gives me some measure of purpose to continue on, working here. I couldn't protect my friends in the end, but maybe I can protect these people, even if I don't even know most of them.

There's down side to this thing, though. Seto's making me wear a suit.

* * *

28th of October, 2010

One of Seto's corporation buildings was bombed today - the one in Domino downtown, the so called crown jewel of his corporation. By bombed I mean that some magician took out the ground level with explosive magic and brought the entire thing down. And, even though the corporation is long since stopped being operational, even though no one was in the building at the time, Seto's _pissed_.

It's not the first time this has happened, though. There are lot of empty buildings out there now that most people have run into smaller country side towns and villages where no incidents have been happening yet. And most corporations and such stopped operating years ago, so lot of offices and factories and such are empty. They're like… leisure targets to the malevolent magicians. Something big and unmovable which will be fun to see come down, I suppose.

If this whole thing is ever going to be over, I don't think there will be much left of _anything._ Entire towns and cities are gone all over the world and the ones that still stand are full of holes and ruins and rubble. Few more years of this and there's no proper place for anyone of us to live.

* * *

4th of November, 2010

Am I ever glad that Mokuba lives in this fortress of a mansion. You wouldn't have thought of it back when he was still a kid, being the brat he was back then, but he grew up to be a one formidable young man. Despite the fact that the mansion is Seto's and Seto runs it and so forth and so forth, it's Mokuba who calls the shots.

Mokuba rations the food, takes care of the sleeping arrangements, and, most of all, he keeps the peace in the mansion. And when I say "he keeps the peace" I mean "he keeps shooting at people's feet until they shut up and stop bickering," though these days no one dares to. Apparently before he learned to aim properly he took out some toes.

Still. Seto might take care of us, he organises the security units and is charge of our defence, but Mokuba keeps us functioning. He's the one who pesters Seto about fresh food - which is without exception fish - and whatever equipment we might need in the mansion. He's also the one who yells at the security units to make sure that they clean their weapons properly - being in charge of the armoury, he isn't too happy about handing guns to guys who manage to ruin theirs with inefficient cleaning.

In the end I think it's because of Mokuba that the mansion still stands as strongly as it does. Without him, the people inside would've gunned each other down a while ago. I can only wonder - with some measure of sadness - what that boy could have became if none of this had happened.

* * *

17th of April, 2011

London was finally wiped off the face of earth completely. Actually it happened about week or two ago, but news never reach this side of the world from the Europe that fast these days. But I got the news today - from Seto, naturally.

Even though that place got more holes to it over the last years than any cities and towns combined, it's still amazing that it's finally gone. They had so good defence there - fact proven that they're still standing after few years of non-stop warring. Well, they were standing, though the fact that it took almost dozen different malicious magicians to bring it down proves the strength of that place.

Hm. It kind of feels like beginning of the end. I always thought that London would stay standing until the end of this hell, but it collapsed. It's like sign, last nail to the coffin. This isn't going to end. No one can end it. We just pick each other and ourselves until there's nothing left.

I guess it's time to realise that we're all going to die in this mess, and we're probably going to do it before anyone reaches thirty. Well, Seto might go pass that barrier thanks to his fortress of a house, but he's a different thing. We don't have his protections.

* * *

25th of July, 2011

Ishtal Ishizu is dead. We just got word from Malik and Rishid from Egypt. They've been targeted about as much as we have and finally… their protections failed. And now Ishizu is dead.

I don't really feel much about it though. She was never really that close and we haven't seen in years - last time I saw her or any of the Ishtals was back when I was seventeen or so. So it's understandable that her death brings no tears to my eyes - and now I feel horrible for being so uncaring.

One thing I'm worried about, though. The Ishtals had _incredible_ protections. They've been untouchable for years according to what I've heard. But now… their protections just failed. The idea that there is someone out there with the ability bring out the protective charms of the Ishtals is more than little worrisome.

* * *

3rd of August, 2011

We've been hearing some rumours about some magician who is stronger than the others - some real dark lord or something like that. Apparently he was the one who took out Ishtal Ishizu - they're saying that her seer abilities were thorn at this guy's side or something.

I didn't even know Ishizu still could See, she lost the Millennium Tauk ages ago, but that's beside the point. This guy targeted the Ishtals specifically to take Ishizu out. It wasn't for fun or sport like it seems to be with us, no, this was planned. Which means that this guy, who ever it is, is preparation for something in midst of all this chaos.

Seto's making new fortifications again, and has had me and the other few here who can make magical bullets working almost non-stop. Now everyone in the mansion has a magical gun and at least ten bullets for it - though Seto's trying to up it into twenty. He's trying to prepare us for whatever's coming. Makes me both glad and a bit reassured - and it's nice to know that cares about us enough to let us prepare, but…

Who knows if it will be enough.

* * *

4th of February, 2012

It seems that Malik and Rishid are dead too. We only got the word about it today, but it's possible it happened a while ago. They were taken down in a battle and tales of it are becoming almost legendary ones, thanks to the amount of magicians they took with them to the grave. And the few magicians who did survive got nothing for it because Malik apparently destroyed the Ishtal tombs and everything in them before they went.

It seems that I, Seto and Mokuba are all that's left of the old Duel Monster's crowd. That seems like it happened another life time ago. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what happened to the others in the tournaments we went to. What happened to Insector Haga or Dinosaur Ryuuzaki? How about Kajiki Ryota? Are they dead too, or are they still alive hiding somewhere out of sight?

If none of this would have happened… would we all still be playing that old game of ours? Who knows. And I guess it's better not to dwell on such things. Dwelling never really helps after all.

* * *

20th of February, 2012

We got a letter post humorously from the Ishtals. It was sent by Ishizu of all people so I guess it was sent ages ago. These things take time these days, but this one took as long as it did because of all the safety precautions they took to make sure that the letter couldn't be read by anyone else but me. Because of that the letter has been wandering from hand to hand, guided and protected by the magic sealed in the envelope…

Well, it's here now. And it's worrisome. Before her death, Ishizu was going over some oldest prophesies and such concerning the Nameless Pharaoh, not so nameless Atemu. Who knows what drove her to do that, maybe she was hoping to find new protective rituals or something, but she found something else, something which now makes me my skin rise to goose bumps.

Before Atemu's name was taken and he became the Nameless Pharaoh, he was called the Pharaoh of Without an End. The very first prophesy made about him called him that and said that "his reign is to last until the end of time itself".

Little belated thing to learn, the pharaoh has been gone for almost eight years, but still… it makes me shiver.

* * *

6th of April, 2012

It's almost hard to remember that Domino used to be one of the fastest growing cities of Japan. Sometimes I still can recall how the streets used to be busy with people and how the central square was packed with crowd ever sunny day… almost.

Nowadays the place is nothing but a ghost city. The buildings are either full of holes or just ruins of what they used to be. Some of the tallest buildings still stand but most of them have been brought down long ago. I don't think there is single structure in the place that isn't mangled one way or another - and no house has its windows left. Even if this ordeal would see its end, Domino will never be habitable again.

Though saying that it's inhabitable is misleading. Some people still live there. Those with no other place to go still live in the ruins and abandoned houses, hiding and evading anyone and everyone they can see. Hiding is the best form of defence for those with no other defensive methods after all. Best ones you can never see.

I've heard some rumours that there are actually lot of people living underground, in the sewage systems. I don't want to think about that too closely though. It would make it seem like we're nothing but rats these days.

* * *

17th of August, 2012

The mansion was attacked and our first line security fell - the wards and protective magic that had been woven to the wall around the mansion grounds were brought down. It took six magicians and their collective attacks to do it, but the point is that they managed… and we suffered greatly for it.

Most of our security units fell at the wall, though they managed to take two of the six magicians before they went. I managed to take one more before the three other broke through our lines and charged at the mansion. They didn't even care about me so I suspect that they were targeting Seto. They had probably been planning the attack carefully, intending it to be a kamikaze attack from the start because they didn't even bother with defence - they were on offensive until the end.

Before I managed to take down two of the three and one other of the security units took out the last one, we suffered heavy damage. The south east corner of the mansion was bombarded badly and the protective spells of the mansion itself fell. Of the mansion's two hundred and fifty three habitants, hundred and seventy nine are still alive - myself included…

They didn't find Seto, though. Instead… they found Mokuba.

* * *

1st of September, 2012

I took over the mansion's defence and peace keeping completely. Seto isn't up to it anymore. I can't really blame him, Mokuba was probably the only reason he kept at it as strong as he did and for as long. Now that Mokuba is gone… well, he lost his momentum. I always knew it would break him. I didn't think he's break this badly, though.

Anyway. We've doubted the security detail at the wall; even those who aren't fighters are now obligated to do their part with the defence. Until the defensive spells are brought back up, we need all the eyes and guns at the wall we can get. I've also decreased the food rations but thankfully no one has whined about that yet. They know that before the charms are properly up, we can't risk any of the security units leaving the mansion grounds to get fresh food.

I'm still trying to lure Seto out of his depression, but it will be a miracle if I can. He's dead set on staying in that state, and no reason I offer is enough to bring him out of it. And depressed Kaiba Seto is one scary individual. In a sort of mad scientist style. Ever since Mokuba's death, he's been working on some machine. I think it's some sort of doom's day device.

Also, out of blue, he designed big machine gun to be employed at the wall. I think he has forsaken all notions of defensiveness. Now he just wants to kill as many of the hostile magicians as possible. I can't really blame him. That's about all I want too, I'm just better at hiding it.

* * *

12th of September, 2012

Another patch of rumours brings nothing but bad news to us. The so called dark lord is apparently making his way to Japan…

* * *

I hate myself for posting this into the Deck because I know it means I've almost given up on it. When I started writing this, it was my baby and I loved it, even drew random concept art for it... but I never managed to write more than this to the story. As it is, this thing is still more than little unpolished.

The origin of this story was a sort of self challenge. There are lot of Yugioh timetravel fics, but they usually only go from the modern times into ancient times. So, I challenged myself to write one in which a character goes back not thousands of years, but from some near by future into the "present time" of Yugioh. From that though, this was born.

So, this was supposed to be a timetravel story. After Mokuba's death, Seto started working on a way of undoing it, as in build a time machine. Before he can use it, however, the Kaiba mansion is attacked and during that attack Yugi finds out that Atemu was never supposed to leave as he was the only thing keeping the magicians of Earth from, well, going insane with power. However someone arranged (the mysterious dark lord figure who, perhaps, was AU Dartz) Atemu's departure, though it was never supposed to happen, and thus the world's end began.

In the end Yugi was supposed to be the one to travel back to the time when he was still fifteen and Atemu/Yami was still around. He was supposed to come sort of bodyguard for his own younger self and for the pharaoh, and to make sure that the concept of Atemu "moving on" would never surface. I had planned all sorts of meetings and stuff between elder Yugi and his younger self & Atemu, as well as confrontations with the dark lord figure. I even invented a fake identity for him (he was supposed to go around by the name of Koudou Yuda) but I never managed to write to that point...

My apologies for possible grammar errors and the overall unpolishedness. I shall go mourn this story now.


	11. Vile Existence

Warning: this story contains highly non-sparkly vampires, general creepiness and non-consensual bondage of very non-sexual kind.

**Vile existence**

**I chapter**

There are days when Atemu hated Jonouchi for living in such neighbourhood. Days when he would visit his friend for some reason or another - when the elder Jonouchi wasn't there of course - and then end up staying too long. When he would be forced to head out into the nightly city, into that dangerous neighbourhood which was dozen times more threatening during night than it was during day… he hated his best friend for living there.

It wasn't like it happened often - rare were the days when his friend's father wasn't there and Jonouchi had the house for himself. Most of the time Atemu didn't think about it at all - and it wasn't like Atemu was helpless. But when he was forced to those streets during the darker hours, into the winy alleyways where the lights of the street lamps didn't quite reach… he was often reminded of his mortality. He wasn't a weakling, in his school he stood up for himself quite well, but that didn't make him exactly tough person. He didn't carry weapons on him, he knew no martial arts and he had barely any means of self defence. And in those streets, running into gang members and drug dealers and other scum that prowled those dark streets at night, he would've needed them.

He hated it not because of the danger - though it was often in his mind whenever he was forced out there in that time. Danger he could deal with, danger he could handle. It wasn't the fear of pain either. It was the annoying certainty of his weakness that seemed to assault him when he couldn't quite see ahead and never know what exactly was behind him. The shiver running over his spine when he heard a noise and couldn't find its origin, the shiver that seemed to remind him of just how open his back was… he hated it. He hated feeling and knowing just how defenceless he was.

Atemu knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that everyone would've felt something akin to what he did. Very few had any more capability for defence than he did. Most people lacked any means of self defence and some of them were as aware of it as he was… but it helped not. When he walked down the streets during the day, when there was someone there with him he could ignore it, he could almost pretend that he wasn't as weak as everyone else. But night allowed him no denial, no ignorance. In night and in those streets he was aware no matter how he hated it.

Like this night. He had been visiting Jonouchi so that they could finish their school project together - some stupid biology assignment that didn't seem as important now as it had back then. The night had fallen before he had noticed and now he was heading home alone, in those damn streets. So far he hadn't encountered anyone and for that he was relieved - but he still felt helpless. And his neck was itching - as if someone's stare had been pouring right into the weak spot between his vertebras. He was intensely aware of just how fragile his spinal cord was - and how easily it was damaged.

It made him wish that he had brought his book pack. He usually carried it in his hand, but these moments made him easily by pass his usual habits and hoist the thing to his back. It would've offered some protection at least, made his back seem little less open and vulnerable.

When he heard steps, he tried not to jump - or run. While all his survival instincts suggested that making hasty exit would be a good idea, he tried to think it logically and calmly. It could be just someone like him who without a better choice walked these alleys only to get out of them. Just a normal person who just had ventured out at night, nothing more dangerous than that.

The thoughts didn't stop Atemu from speeding up his steps slightly. The sound of his striding echoed from the walls of the buildings around him. In the same time the space around him seemed to shrink and swell - the street seemed to lengthen even while the walls started to close in on him. He swallowed and hoped that the action wasn't audible. He still had lot to walk before he got out of the damn alley, and he was painfully aware of just how long it would take him to cross that distance.

The steps he could hear, steps coming from behind him, seemed to speed up as well. Only his pride, whatever was left of it, kept him from setting out to dead run. He reminded himself of who he was and how he was supposed to act. He was no weakling that ran away - he was Mutou Atemu! Not that it really meant much, but it meant enough. He did not run and he did not flee. That just wasn't his way… no matter how much he wanted it to be right then.

The steps got louder as they came closer. Atemu pressed his eyes tightly shut for a moment and opened them with a deep frown. Concentrating onto how much he hated feeling like this, he tried to ignore the fear that was urging him to speed his steps, to jog a little at least. His striding was fast now and his breathing was making his throat ache slightly. Running would've been lest energy consuming as such fast paced walking - but he wouldn't run. There was no reason to run, he told himself. After all, why would anyone be after him? Aside from some annoying school bullies he had set straight long time ago, he had no enemies.

Someone was watching him, he was sure of it. Someone was following him with their eyes as he walked. Was it the same one who was walking so close behind him? He hesitated but gave into his survival instincts, and glanced behind himself. As he suspected - feared - there was no one there. Continuing his walking, he bit his lower lip slightly and tried to distract himself from the fearful thoughts he didn't want to think. It didn't help much.

He nearly jumped when he felt a breath of warm air against his neck. His hand rouse to touch the said neck immediately, brushing over the skin once. Then he quickly tugged the collar of his jacket higher up, to cover the vulnerable neck. It was strange though, that little breeze. It had been warm… even though the late autumn air was otherwise cool.

Atemu shivered, his urge to run growing stronger. He hastily thought up a plan to make it look less lame. He raised his wrist as if to glance a watch - even though he had no wrist watch - and muttered a curse. "I'm late," he said to himself - and now, with the pretence of hurry up, he started to jog. He really wanted to get out of the alleys as soon as possible.

His heart almost jumped to his throat and right out of his mouth when the steps that followed him started to run as well. All the thoughts of pretence and pride flew out of window at that moment. Appearances be damned, Atemu had to get out of the accursed alleys and into the wider streets that had better lightning. He wanted there fast too, so the light jogging he had started turned into real run - and despite his previous thoughts he was glad he didn't have a book pack with him. It would've just slowed him down.

The steps following were like hasty drumbeat that foretold of danger - one that should be avoided by all means necessary. Atemu's breathing was harsh and hurt his throat, but he wouldn't slow down, only tried to run faster. When he saw the mouth of the alley and got the street lamps into his vision again, his chest bursted with relief. Almost there, he was almost there. And when he would get there he would be save, no one would attack him in the light…

When he passed the alley's edge and got to the wider street, the relief made him slow his steps down slightly. The fact that his each breath was a harsh, painful gasps and his sides were stinging painfully also demanded him to slow down. But the steps that followed him didn't.

Before Atemu could even gather enough strength to try and speed up again, hands took hold of him. One of them pressed against his mouth, another wrapped around his chest and easily he was dragged back to the alley before he could even try to fight back. His muffled scream of surprise and fear barely echoed in the street as the darkness of the alley behind him seemed to consume him.

-

Atemu woke up in complete darkness. His mind was still hazy with sleep - or had it been unconsciousness? - so it took him a moment to realise that there was absolutely no light what so ever around him. Turning his head left and right he saw nothing but blackness around him - nothing to indicate where he was. This was certainly not his attic-bedroom at the game store.

Trying to sit up in order to search for some light proved to be impossible. It took him few seconds to digest the fact that he couldn't move. With his brain still slightly slow, the thought didn't sink with the proper gravity as he tried to raise his hand only to find that there was something strapped around his wrists, holding it tightly down. Trying to move told him that another strap was holding his chest down, that there was one around his neck as well, keeping his head tightly against the soft mattress underneath him. His legs were in no better condition, they had been strapped down in two places, mid things and mid shins.

Bound down in complete darkness, Atemu's breathing started quickly to turn heavier with fear. Where was he? How had he ended up here? Someone was holding him, that was obvious, someone had bound him… but who? Trying to move against the binds proved to be futile, they were strong and tight and allowed him almost no space to move. He could move his fingers, rotate his wrists and turn his head from side to side, but that was about it.

Trying not to let the panic that was bursting from his chest to consume him, Atemu tried to remember - if not for any other reason then to distract him and keep himself from hyperventilating. Last day had been a normal day. He had gone to school, hanged around with Jonouchi afterwards and they had gone to Jonouchi's place to finish their biology project. He had stayed late, and headed home… in the dark. Someone had been following him, someone had been watching him… he had ran but hadn't managed to escape. What had happened afterwards?

Sudden bout of spiking pain pushed aside all thought and his body convulsed. It lasted only for about half of a second, but it left him gasping for breath. Shaking in the binds that were holding him, he tried to calm down but the fear and panic were growing quickly. What had that been? It had felt like his entire skin had been stung by thousands and millions of needles for a moment.

Trying to calm his rabidly hastening breathing down, Atemu swallowed. He forced his thoughts back to their original track. He had been attacked from behind. What had happened afterwards? As he tried he couldn't remember. All he remembered was the taste of iron - of blood? - and two voices speaking in language he couldn't understand. Talking… or had they been arguing? In his memory the voices seemed to echo distantly, like they hadn't been important at all. Something else had been… he had been bleeding?

The next bout of pain that came from the inside and still somehow stung him like thousands needles from the outside, forced a muffled scream out of his throat. Gasping for breath and feeling how sweat of pain started to pour out of him, Atemu grit his teeth and tried to calm down. Having a panic attack of starting to hyperventilate wouldn't help him at all.

Someone was holding him, there as no doubt about that. He had passed out during the attack probably - maybe someone had hit him or something. He could remember blood, he had probably been bleeding too… he could feel no bleeding now, but he did feel the pain. Had someone done something to him? Maybe some drug? Who knew what kind of people roamed around in those streets, they probably had drugs to cause excruciating pain in people --

The thought was cut by more pain and this time he couldn't muffle the scream of agony. His body trashed in the binds and for a strange mindless moment he hated them and was thankful of them at the same time. As he came down from height of pain, whimpering and gasping, his scream still echoed in the room, he wondered if the bonds where there to prevent him from escaping… or prevent him for harming himself when the convulsions struck him. If they weren't there, he had probably been trashing around pretty badly.

His breathing heavy and his body covered in sweat of pain, Atemu stared blindly at the darkness and wondered why anyone would do this to him. What would they gain from torturing him like this? Not because of their pleasure, if that had been it then shouldn't someone been there watching? Or maybe the room was filled with night-cameras, all directed to him and recording every of his reactions… could be that they even had a life feed? World was filled with sick people, so he couldn't dismiss that disgusting possibility.

Atemu closed his eyes, trying not to think of the possibility of someone watching and recording his pain. While fearfully waiting for the next convulsion he tried to think of ways to escape. There weren't any, really. Strapped to a bed, constantly convulsing with pain… not very easy to think of a way to escape from such conditions.

Just before the next convulsion attacked him, he heard speaking. His own screaming made it impossible for him to hear what they were talking about for as long as the convulsion lasted and after it he was too groggy with the pain for a moment to even remember his own name. The next bout of pain robbed him of all clarity - and eventually his consciousness as well.

-

As Atemu's consciousness slowly returned to him, he almost vomited. The air around him smelled absolutely vile, like rotting flesh. As he weakly gagged, trying not to throw up, it took him a long while to realise that he wasn't lying in the bed anymore. Though the darkness was still there and still as deep as before, he wasn't lying at all.

He was standing… sort of. His hands were spreaded at his each side, held from wrists, and middle of his upper arms by leathery binds. There was some sort of harness around his chest, supporting most of his weight. There were also binds at his ankles, keeping his feet tightly against the floor in shoulder-width spread. Moving his arms caused a strange swinging motion and Atemu realised that the binds were hanging probably from the ceiling - so was the harness around his chest. It gave his arms some mobility, though he couldn't lower them underneath his shoulder height… he could also move his head a bit. But the rest of his body and his feet were given none mobility whatsoever.

As he tried to figure out these new bindings, it took Atemu a moment to realise that he was completely naked. Strangely enough, he wasn't cold at all. The air around him was heavy and warm with the stench of rotting flesh and his skin felt dirty. Moving his arms weakly, he tried to push back the nausea that was threatening to consume him. Only after long time he managed to gather enough of his mind for intelligent thought.

He took a shallow breath, trying not to smell anything - and failing. What was the purpose of this, now? The drug torture of before he could almost understand, but this? Someone had put him naked into room filled with rotting flesh? If it was torture, then it was very vile and weird one. The harness didn't even feel that uncomfortable, they actually held his weight rather nicely, despite the fact that he was forced in such position…

Maybe it was some sort of pervert who was holding him? First torture - which was possibly filmed - and now this… He had always known that there were sick people in the world, but this wasn't something he had thought. What made people enjoy inflicting something like this on others - and why was it inflicted on him? He didn't think he had insulted or hurt someone enough for them to put up revenge like this… he certainly hadn't tried to.

He closed his eyes, wishing that he could block the horrible stench out. Distantly he could feel something peeling from the back of his calve and tried not to think what it could be - what was staining his naked body. Maybe someone of these disgusting people, who ever they were, had seen him when he had been walking in the alleys… maybe they had picked him just because of his looks? He knew he wasn't a bad looking male, despite his more than modest height… If that had been it, then it could've been anyone who had been forced to undergo this? He was just the unlucky one who had been picked…

When he heard a creak, Atemu raised his head and peered into the complete darkness around him. He couldn't see anything, but he felt a breath of heavy air against his bade, filthy body. Trying not to gag at the smell of it, the teen wildly stared into the darkness. He heard nothing, but he knew there was someone in the room with him. The air was moving around just slightly him… someone was there.

"Who's there?" he asked, his words somehow suffocated by the darkness and by the smell in the air, until they sounded choked up. "I know there's someone there. Show yourself!"

There was no answer, only complete silence. Atemu bit his lip, trying to see but the darkness was impenetrable. Then he heard nearly silent steps walking towards him, and tried to step back only to be stopped by the straps holding him. "Don't - don't come any closer!" he snapped, but his voice didn't sound even nearly as threatening as he wanted it to. "I mean it! Don't…"

Again there was no answer. His breathing getting quicker with fear despite his attempts to stop it, Atemu steeled himself for what ever was about to come. More torture perhaps? He was strapped up like some sort of exhibit - or a prize. Naked too… Would he be whipped? Or something worse? Swallowing - and trying not to make it too audible - Atemu felt filthy bitterness filling his mouth. He almost wished he could go back to unconscious state - no, he really wished he could.

Gasp was wrung from his lips when he felt icy cold liquid splat against his face. Thanks to his sharp inhale, some of it got to his mouth and with surprise he realised that it was water. Before he could even begin to question why there was water being thrown at him, more of it splattered against him - this time against his chest. Then more - to his shoulders, his back, over his arms, to his waist… until he was soaked in frosty water, his hair sobbing wet and falling to his eyes. Confused Atemu shivered with cold, listening to how the water dribbled from his body to the floor. He could feel that it was taking some of the filth from his naked form, but certainly not all of it.

It was as if someone was washing him.

After he had been covered in water there was a pause when nothing happened. Confused and still fearful, Atemu waited for what was going to happen next. The smell was still there and still making him sick, but the feeling of cold was giving him something else to concentrate on. He was beginning to hope that the water, whatever it had been about, was it and that nothing else would happen… when he felt something touch his back, making him tremble.

A hand. It was surprisingly small hand, but there was confidence in it as it brushed over Atemu's bare shoulder blades and up to his vulnerable neck. The teen shivered, wondering if it was a woman who was touching him. As the hand moved, he could feel that there was something on his skin - that same filth. It felt like the hand was examining the said filth. Once it tugged on one sliver of whatever the filth was, only to stop at Atemu's sharp wince of pain. As the naked teen wondered why the hell he would feel pain because of the action, the hand left him.

It took him about ten minutes to realise that he had been left alone again. It took him whole lot longer to fall asleep in the horrible smell and strange, albeit strangely comfortable, position he was in.

-

He woke up to a feeling of icy water being poured to his head. Gasping breath with surprise and shock, he was for a moment too out of it to even remember his own name. The water dribbled down his body and to the floor as the smell assaulted him and forced him to swallow vomit. As someone poured water over his bare shoulders, his stomach growled - though if it was because of the nausea or the hunger, Atemu wasn't sure. He still couldn't see anything.

The teen shivered. A wet hand brushed over his chilled shoulders and this time there was no filth there. More water was poured on him and as it washed over him, the hand on his back travelled downwards, brushing away the remaining dirt as it went. While confused Atemu tried to regain coherency and figure out what was happening, more water was poured on him. Over his behind and down his thighs, the hand carefully following the trails of the water and making him shiver with cold and dread.

But the hand did nothing to his vulnerable, bared backside. It left him for a moment and then water was being thrown to his chest, and the hand was then touching him there. It was checking that the water was washing he filth away, Atemu soon begin to realise. It seemed satisfied soon as it left him. More water was thrown to Atemu's shivering form until he was sobbing wet and standing on pool of water.

When who-ever-it-was stopped throwing more water on him, Atemu thought - hoped and prayed - that it was over. His stomach was growling, the smell was still making him nauseous and his mouth felt strangely clumsy. Part of him - possibly the portion of his mind that was in charge of his survival - was telling him that he needed food, that he was hungry, that he would die if he wouldn't get anything to eat. But he said nothing, just wished that he would be left alone again. That the strange perverted torture would end.

Atemu almost cried out loud when he felt something cold being pressed against his lips. It felt like glass against his lips which he kept tightly pressed against each other, unwilling to open them. He didn't want that whatever-it-was to get into his mouth. Part of him was saying that it could be the neck of a bottle, that maybe it was food, but his fear was stronger. It could be something horrible - a gag or some torture device, and even if it was neck of a bottle he had no idea what was inside it. It could've been poison - or another torture drug. Whatever it was, he didn't want it in his mouth.

The cool glass pressed against his lips insistently for a moment, before pulling away. For a moment Atemu was relieved, before he felt something else press against his strangely sensitive lips. A finger - which immediately started to pry it's way into his mouth. With a groan of objection, Atemu tried to fight back, tried to keep his lips shut and his teeth tightly against each other, but the finger was stronger than his lip muscles. It pushed through and then forced it's way between Atemu's teeth with frightening ease. With a growl the teen did the only logical thing that came to his mind. He bit. Hard.

And all the thought left from his head as sudden metallic taste that filled his mouth. Without even realising what he was doing - or why - Atemu whimpered and sucked onto the bleeding finger. His tongue, as if by it self, lapped on the metallic taste and at that moment he couldn't concentrate enough to remember that just second ago he had been nauseous with the stench of rotting flash. Or that the finger was in his mouth to pry it open so that the person could insert something to his mouth, whatever it was. All he could was to lap on the tingle of blood coming from the wounded finger.

When the finger left his mouth slowly, Atemu almost whined in objection. He was hungry and he wanted - needed, craved - for that blood. When the cool glass returned to his lips, he obediently opened his mouth in hopes that if he complied, the blood would be given to him. And it was. The glass neck in his lips was carefully tilted and his mouth was filled with wonderful, heavy blood. Like child he sucked greedily on it, swallowing the blood in large desperate gulps. Tears of strange, weak pleasure ran across his cheeks as his hunger was satisfied by the heady, metallic liquid.

Only when the bottle was empty and taken from his lips, he realised what he had just done. As he was left alone again, to hang from the binds and the hardness, he was still for a long time with shock and disgust. Blood. He had drank blood - and so eagerly, as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted! He knew he should've been disgusted by it… but his body wouldn't comply - even the scent of rotting flesh didn't make him nauseous right now.

With confused sob, Atemu ran his tongue over his mouth which still tasted like blood. He could only wonder what was being done to him, as his tongue encountered his canine teeth. They were bigger than they had been before. 'What the hell is happening to me?' he wondered, pressing his eyes shut in hopes of preventing the tears of confusion and fear from escaping. Like anything else he had tried so far, it didn't help much.

**II chapter**

For a long while Atemu stared up to the ceiling, not really registering what he was seeing. He was distracted by the feeling of the heavy duvet and the softness of the mattress underneath him - the pillow under his head felt nice and soft too. Slowly he blinked at the dark ceiling, before frowning.

He could see the ceiling, which meant…. He wasn't in darkness anymore?

With a gasp or surprise, he sat up on the bed. As the heavy duvet pooled at his lap, he looked around frantically. He was in a dark room that had it's windows hidden behind curtains and two doors, one in the wall across the room and one in the wall left to that wall. The bed he was laying was large enough for two, and all it's sheets were dark. Because of all this darkness the small glass lamp in the bedside table could only light the place dimly.

As he stared at the room, wondering when he had been taken here and why wasn't he restrained anymore, it took Atemu a moment to realise that he was clean - that he couldn't smell that vileness of before anymore. Looking down to himself he saw no dirt on him and that he wasn't even naked anymore. Instead he had been dressed into black pyjamas that felt like silk against his skin.

Throwing the ideas of when and how out of his mind, Atemu bolted out of the bed and to the nearest door. It opened with ease, revealing small bathroom behind it. Quickly turning to the other door, Atemu clasped the handle only to find that it wouldn't give in. After moment of trying and coming to the conclusion that the door was locked and wouldn't open, the teen turned to the curtains with a frown. But even the window allowed him no escape - it was blocked by solid, heavy looking shutters from the outside.

For a moment Atemu considered breaking the windows as he ran his hand over the solid glass. When he had been restrained he hadn't had any means of escaping, but now he had been left alone. And he certainly wasn't going to sit around and wait for his capturers to continue with their weird, vile tortures.

Though… he hadn't really even thought about escape when he had been restrained, had he? No, at least not that much…

Shaking his head at the strange thought, Atemu turned around to look at the room again in hopes of seeing something he could use to break the window. Other than the bed and the bedside table, there was nothing in the room. Well, there was the lamp but the thing looked like it would break before he could use it to break the window. Maybe the bedside table…

Glancing around again, this time for possible video cameras or other means these people could be watching him. After seeing none - though that meant little, his kidnappers could've hidden cameras into the walls for all he knew - he walked to the bedside table. Kneeling down beside it, he carefully tried it's weight before frowning. The thing was made of metal and lot heavier than it looked. There was no way he was going to be able to lift it, not to even mention about throwing it at the window.

"Shit…" he murmured, looking at the lamp. Then he glanced back to the window. It was unlikely that the lamp would do any damage to the window. All he would get was a mess.

Sitting down to the edge of the bed, the teen ran his fingers through his surprisingly clean hair. The last thing he remembered was trying to fall asleep in that vile smelling place, still hanging from the goddamn restrains. How had the people gotten him here - even washed him - without him waking up? He grimaced at his own thought. If these people had drugs for torture, they surely could knock him out easily.

The thought left him feeling slightly cold. What if they had done more to him than washed him? Quickly he tried to feel around his body, looking for any damage. There didn't seem to be any - even the restrains seemed to have left no bruising what so ever. He felt no pain, no nausea, nothing. In fact… he felt pretty good.

Shaking his head again, Atemu brushed the heel of his hand against his forehead. "Think, Atemu, think," he ordered, trying to sort his mind through the ordeal.

These people were obviously some sort of perverts who go off by torturing others by strange methods. It could've been that what Atemu had been put through had been some sort of exhibit, maybe even a show? He shivered slightly at the idea of people seeing him in such moment of utter and complete weakness and humiliation. Well, the exhibit was over now. Maybe he would be kept here for now on, in this locked up room? Until the next show anyway…

With a frown Atemu glanced at the window. What were the chances of these people slipping like this after going as far as to kidnap him? The window was probably bullet proof or something like that - or he was in some ridiculously high room that it would be stupid to try to jump… or maybe there were bars outside the shutters.

With a swallow, he lowered his eyes, for a moment laying his hands in his lap. Then he rubbed his wrists, remembering the binds. He didn't want to go through that again. It was… humiliating didn't even begin to describe it.

With his defiance flaring again, Atemu looked up and frowned. Then he grabbed the lamp from the bedside table, ripped the cord off and threw the lamp at the window with all his strength. In the darkness that followed he could only hear the lamp shattering, the window remained intact.

"Damn it," he hissed, sitting up again. With long strides he walked to the locked door with all the intentions of starting to beat and kick it to submission. His plans changed, however, when he heard a click coming from the door's handle. Quickly recognising a chance to escape, Atemu crouched a little, ready to attack anyone who was coming into the room.

"Don't try it," surprisingly young male voice said through the door without opening it. "Attacking me won't help your situation any. So calm down and step back. I'm going to open the door and you will behave for I will not be held accountable what will happen to you if you try assaulting me."

Atemu frowned slightly, glancing around suspiciously. So they did have cameras in the room… Turning his eyes back to the door he hesitated for a moment before stepping back. He did, however, clench his fists. If this person would try doing something, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

After a moment of silence, the door was slowly opened. Atemu couldn't help but stare at the person behind it with surprise. It was a teen about his age - heck, a little younger probably - who was dressed into smart black suit. The shorter teenager had almost innocent face but his eerie amethyst shaded eyes were hard and experienced as they took in Atemu's appearance.

"Good," the shorter teenager nodded with satisfaction before stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. The shorter one didn't seem to even notice how Atemu took an cautious step backwards as he leaned his back against the door. "Now, I'm going to ask few questions and you're going to answer them. Starting with your name."

Atemu frowned. These people kidnapped him, tortured him and borderline molested him and NOW they wanted to know his name? "I'm not going to tell anything to you bastards," he snarled. "Let me out of here. You have no right keeping me here."

The shorter teenager raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly. "Well, that depends on the angle you perceive this matter from. In my opinion I have every right to keep you here. Eventually you will understand why. But now, you will answer my questions."

"No I won't," Atemu hissed, crouching a bit. The other was smaller than him, even though he wasn't skilled with these sort of things he could easily --

"I wouldn't try it," the other's smile widened slightly. "You will very quickly find --" he couldn't finish as Atemu rushed forward. With a shake if his head the shorter teenager shifted and suddenly Atemu found that his arm was pinned painfully against his back and he had been slammed face first against the door. While he tried to struggle against the shorter teen's surprisingly strong hold, the other chuckled. "-- that it is impossible for you to beat me," the shorted teen finished.

"Bastard!" Atemu growled, struggling against the hold and trying to get freed, only to be pressed harder against the door. Gasp of pain was wrung from the taller teen's throat as the shorter one twisted his hand.

"We could've done this peacefully but fine. Let's go about this the hard way. Let us make a very poor first impression to each other," the shorter teen said. "Now. Your name," he demanded then, twisting the others hand hard.

"Agh!" Atemu groaned, trying to keep himself quiet… but he was very unused to pain - and the shorter teen seemed to know exactly how and where to apply his strength. "Atemu! Mutou Atemu!" the taller teen soon cried, fearing that if the other would keep twisting, something would dislocate.

The twist lessened slightly, allowing the taller teen to breathe easier. "Hello Atemu, my name is Yugi," the shorter one introduced himself, though there was a strange under tone in his voice - almost as if he was relieved. "Now. Any family members. Mother, father?"

"My parents are dead," Atemu growled, pressing his cheek against the door and trying to look back towards the other. His captor, Yugi, was looking at him with surprisingly concentrated eyes. There was no sneer or smirk - nothing that implied that the shorter teen enjoyed inflicting pain upon him. Atemu grimaced as his arm was twisted in demand of further information. "They died in a plane crash when I was young."

"How young?" the shorter teen demanded. "Where were they going since they were in a plane?"

"Five," Atemu grunted, though he was more than confused about why the other would ask about such things. His parents were completely relevant to the whole kidnapping thing… weren't they? "I was five. And they were going to Egypt, for a dig. They were archaeologists…"

Yugi smiled, and the pressure against Atemu's arm eased again. "But you remember them. That's good, that's good," he looked away and it seemed like he was about to release the captive… but when Atemu tried to wiggle his arm free the other's hold immediately tightened. The shorter teen's eerie eyes snapped back to him. "The night in the alley, what do you remember of it? Do you remember why were in the alley, do you remember how you were attacked?"

Atemu wheezed out a strained breath and frowned. Why the hell would his attacked want to know such things, didn't Yugi already know what had happened? The question was quickly driven out of his mind by painful pressure on his arm. "Ah! I was going home, I spend the evening with my friend working on school project and I was going home," he quickly spoke. "I remember that someone was following me, but…" he frowned. Someone had attacked him, it was obvious… but he couldn't remember how or who or what had happened.

"But you can't remember anything else," Yugi sighed. "I suspected as much…" then, to Atemu's surprise, the smaller teen released him.

"What difference does it make whether I remember or not?" Atemu growled, quickly turning around to face the other. When Yugi didn't seem about to attack him, Atemu raised his hand to rub his aching shoulder and arm. "You're the one who attacked me, aren't you?"

"No, I'm the one who saved you," the shorter teen said, shaking his head. Then he raked his eyes up and sown Atemu's form, taking in the pyjamas. "Your clothing are in the bathroom," he then said, ignoring the glare Atemu was giving him. "Go change."

The taller teen eyed the other suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because it's not polite to walk around in night clothing in someone else's house," the shorter teen shook his head and pointed at the bathroom. "Go change. Or do you need my help to do it?"

For a moment Atemu glared at the smaller teen, but couldn't help the slight wince when Yugi took a threatening step forward. Muttering curses under his breath, mostly at him self for being actually afraid of someone who was smaller than him, Atemu turned to the bathroom. As he closed the door behind - with satisfactory bang - he could hear the shorter teen sigh something about newborns.

To Atemu's surprise, pile of his own clothing were waiting for him in the bathroom, neatly folded in a shelve beside pile of clean towels. Taking them and inspecting them, he was surprised to find that they weren't damaged in the slightest - and by the smell of them, someone had recently washed them as well.

After throwing suspicious look to the door he had locked, Atemu quickly undressed the silk pyjamas and pulled the clothing on. Once he had finished dressing, he looked around for a mirror, only to find the bathroom lacking one. Shaking his head he glared at the bathroom door for a moment before opening it and stepping out.

"Ready to go?" Yugi, who was standing at the door, asked calmly, ignoring Atemu's glare completely.

"Go where?"

"To my Master. He wishes to see you," the shorter teen answered and opened the door.

The words immediately put Atemu on the edge. "Your… master?" he asked slowly, feeling a chill creeping down his spine. His mind by it self flashed some worrisome images of what this 'master' could be like - and what this 'master' wanted from him. It was slightly disturbing vision - especially when his mind added subservient Yugi into the picture. "What if I don't want to go?"

"My Master wishes to see you," Yugi repeated slowly, his eyes steeling and his posture turning slightly hostile. "That leaves you with very little choice in the matter," he tilted his head to the side and somehow managed to glare down on Atemu despite his short height. "You can come willingly or I can force you. Your choice."

The taller teen grimaced but said nothing. Nodding with satisfaction, Yugi motioned him to go forward, apparently unwilling to allow Atemu to get behind him. Once Atemu had stepped out of the dark room to similarly dark corridor, Yugi began, more or less, shepherd him to the right direction.

"Is this entire place this dark?" Atemu asked cuttingly, glancing at the dark curtains hanging heavily over all the windows. "This place looks like something out of bad horror movie."

"The mistress of this mansion doesn't like sunlight," Yugi answered with a small smile.

First a 'master' and now a 'mistress'? Atemu shivered. To think there were such people - and places such as this… mansion - in Domino. His thought trailed away as he realised that or all he knew, he could've been anywhere. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, anything could've when he had been out of it.

"Where is this place?" Atemu asked, trying to make it sound nonchalant when it was anything but. If he were still in his home town, then escape was his best bet… but if he wasn't then he wasn't sure what to do.

"Domino is some twenty kilometres to west from here," Yugi answered, seeming slightly amused. He didn't say anything to that subject though, merely glancing ahead as they came from the corridor into open hall. They were in some strange indoor-balcony from where they could see three floors down. "Left from here, Atemu," the shorter teen said calmly as Atemu tried to find the staircases. "Let's not keep my Master waiting."

After another corridor, they came to pair of large doors which Yugi opened. Behind them there was nothing Atemu had been imagining - fearing and dreading - but what looked like comfortable sitting room. There was two large couches and plenty of comfortable looking arm chairs in the fire-lit room, and one of them was occupied. And the person was certainly nothing like Atemu had imagined, making the teen believe that they had missed Yugi's so called 'master'.

The person sitting in the armchair nearest to the fire was a young man with long white hair and pale skin. He was dressed casually into jeans and sweater and was almost playfully mending the fire with a coal poker. The young man glanced up to them and smiled. "You're awake, I see," the young man said, placing the coal poker down and leaning back in his chair. He motioned the other seats. "Have a seat."

Atemu glanced at Yugi unsurely only to see how the shorter teen crossed the room to stand behind the white-haired man's chair. With confused and slightly worried frown, Atemu took a seat - as far away from the other two as he could. If the white haired man, whom Atemu guessed was Yugi's so called 'master', noticed is action - or the anxiousness behind it - he made no note of it. Instead the man was looking at Yugi.

"His name is Mutou Atemu, Master," the shorter teen said, bowing his head just slightly and closing his eyes before looking up to Atemu. "It seems like he managed to keep his memories." There was a strange undertone in his voice again. He sounded almost pleased. "He can't remember the attack but it was to be expected."

"That's good news, very good news," the white haired man nodded, turning his eyes to Atemu. "How are you feeling, Atemu?"

The teen stared at the two with suspicion and confusion. He no longer had any idea what was going on here. These people attacked him, kidnapped him, did… things to him and now they were worried about his memories of all things? And this white haired man… was actually asking how he was feeling? "Who are you?" Atemu asked instead of answering.

"Oh, forgive me for my rudeness," the white haired man nodded his head in apology. "My name is Bakura Ryou - and you have already met my servant Yugi," he motioned at the suit-bearing teen standing behind his chair. "And before you ask, you are in the mansion of lady Mazaki Anzu," the man motioned at the room around them. "Who had been kind enough let us intrude upon her house…" with a shake of his head, the man turned his warm - but somehow sharp - eyes to Atemu. "Now, how are you feeling?"

Atemu blinked before snarling at the man. "You attack me, kidnap me, torture and almost molest me, and after all this you're asking how I feel?!" he asked with disbelief. "Are you kidding me?!"

The white haired man - Bakura - seemed surprised for a moment before sighing morosely. "I guess that's one way to perceive our actions… especially from standpoint of someone who can't remember exactly what happened," he murmured, before glancing at Yugi. "He hasn't realised what has happened to him, huh?"

"It does seem so, sir," Yugi answered calmly but his frown had slightly worried quality to it when he looked at Atemu.

"How to explain this, how to…" Bakura bit his lower lip for a moment before looking at his servant. "You've done this before, right?"

"Not in a while, Master," the short teen shook his head. "And usually the situation and time made explanation easy." Yugi looked at Atemu thoughtfully for a moment while the teenager was waiting anxiously for what they had to say - what kind of insane explanation they could possibly invent. Yugi clicked his tongue with another shake of his head. "Rare are the newborns who somehow don't notice their own deaths - and who don't remember being bitten…"

"Wha…?" Atemu stared at them with confusion.

"True, true," Bakura nodded, folding his hands in his lap and staring at Atemu for a moment before sighing. "Well, let's just start from the beginning," he decided, his eyes steeling and expression turning serious. "For first thing, you weren't attacked by us. You were attacked by a monster named Leviathan Dartz whom I imagine had been keeping an eye on you for some time now."

Atemu merely blinked at them, not really comprehending the words.

"Ever seen a man with long teal hair and mismatched eyes? He probably wears a little trinket on his forehead and pendant with unicursal hexagram in it," the white haired man raised his hand and drew something to the air with his finger - a strange star. The star didn't shake Atemu as much as the fact that it was glowing in the air as if Bakura had used some glowing paint on a sheet of plastic - except he knew he hadn't. "This is what it looks like," the white haired man explained, motion the star he had drawn. Then he blinked at the dumbstruck look on Atemu's face and chuckled. "First time seeing magic?"

"What the hell?" Atemu asked, not able to articulate his confusion further.

"Magic," Bakura repeated, making a strange motion with his hand - and lighting a surprisingly large flame to his palm. With a flip of his wrist he turned it into small ball of flame that floated over his fingers. "The mysterious ability to do things beyond the accepted rules of nature. Of course there is more to it than that, but that's for me to know…" Bakura snapped his fingers and the ball of flame vanished. "And we were discussing Dartz. Have you seen him?"

Atemu, who was still staring at the spot where the ball of flame had been, shook his head - before remembering something. There had been a man with pale blue hair hanging around their school lately, in the part he usually crossed to get to the school area. He had noticed the man because of the strange hair but had never really thought more about it. "Yeah… yeah, I think I've seen him. He hangs around the park near our school… I saw him couple of weeks ago for the first time, I think."

"Probably was spying you, taking a closer look at you to be sure," Bakura shook his head, looking at his hand in dismay. "I smell like smoke now," he murmured before looking up to Yugi. "Though is it his usual behaviour to spy on his victims for that long?"

"No, usually single glance will do," the short teen mused with a frown, looking up to Atemu. "But this one isn't just another drone to him. Not with a soul like that."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Atemu asked suspiciously.

"Dartz is a monster who collects people who have a little bit more than other people have," Bakura explained. "People with powerful souls attract him - and yours is exceptionally powerful. I'm not all that good in that type of magic, but even I can see your aura, it's taking most of the room. That would draw him to you like moth to a light bulb…"

The trick with fire aside their explanation was turning into more insane by the minute. "Powerful soul my ass --"

"There must be a skill you posses," Yugi spoke sharply before he could continue. "That sets you aside from everyone else. Makes you a special. You've never been quite able to explain how you do it, it happens almost as if by itself, but there is something you can do that others can't - or if they can't, they're never as good at it as you are. Something that makes you special…"

Atemu frowned, but without his consent his mind easily brought up the idea of what made him a little bit special. Turning his eyes away the teenager frowned. But… he was just good at games, right? Anyone could be good at games, any game could be mastered. But not within few minutes, his mind whispered. You didn't become the undefeated champion of a game you've never played before within minutes.

"I thought so," Yugi murmured. "That usually happens with people with powerful souls. Had things been different, you would've been trained in magic and your soul would've found an outlet in that way… but seeing that you haven't been trained, your power found another way to express itself."

"Dartz attacked you because of that, because he wants powerful people like you to serve him in that stupid quests of his," Bakura shook his head with a frown. "But thankfully Yugi managed to intercept him, snatched you before he could take you away, though…" he frowned, looking Atemu seriously. "We were afraid that the damage had already been done… you don't know how lucky you are that you can remember."

"What does that mean?" Atemu asked with a frown. "And if you supposedly saved me… what was the point with the torture? For all I know I could've been better off with him than with you."

"Torture," Bakura snorted, shaking his head and glancing at Yugi. "Though it does make us seem like the bad guys, doesn't it?"

"We could've left him alone, Master. Let him suffer the convulsions without strapping him down and making sure he doesn't manage to crush his own head during the seizures," Yugi said calmly, not even looking at Atemu. "We could've allowed him to rot away on some bed and completely disfigure during his re-growing. If that would've made us seem like good guys, then…"

While Atemu frowned with confusion, Bakura chuckled. "What a positive way of looking at it," he murmured and turned to Atemu again. "What we did was only for your own good."

"Yeah, right," Atemu murmured with a dark frown. "That's why you hung me naked in some pit of rotting meat."

"That was your own flesh, rotting and falling from the way of the new flesh," Yugi answered with almost hostile frown. "Do you have scars, Atemu? Old scars that were going to stick with you till you died? How about birthmarks?" he tilted his head a bit. "You don't probably have any of them anymore."

The teen frowned at the other two before turning his attention to his hand. He had a scar in his forearm left from when he had fallen and almost broken his arm as a child, and the scar had been there ever since. Cautiously Atemu pulled the sleeve up - and then stared at the unmarred skin with confusion. The small mole that had been near it was gone too. "What…?"

"Everything in your body has been renewed. The convulsions were caused by the first renewals, the brain and the spinal cord," Yugi explained calmly. "You were unconscious during most of it, though, but you kept convulsing even so. For a moment you even died when your heart rotted away and new one appeared to replace it. Then your new internal organs begun pushing the older ones out of your body…"

"We had to make sure that nothing was in the way of the rotting flesh. It needed to come clean off or it's weight would've disfigured your new body," Bakura said. "In the beginning we kept switching the places of the strapping so that they wouldn't get into the way of the rotting flesh, but I think we managed to keep them from harming your new body."

"It would've been better if we had had a pool at our disposal," Yugi murmured. "Elaborate strapping wouldn't have been necessary."

"What… that's not possible. It's not possible for a human to just grow a new body," Atemu glared at the two. "This is the stupidest story I've ever heard."

"Yes, and somewhere you believe it, I can hear it from your voice," Yugi said calmly. "I know you had regained consciousness towards the end - you felt the change. You can't deny it."

Atemu winced, remembering the sensation of someone trying to remove a sliver of dirt from his skin - but it had hurt… it had been his own flesh rotting away? "You were there… you washed me," he murmured and then remembered how that meeting had ended. On it's own his tongue ran over his mouth, but he barely registered the sharpness of his canine teeth. "You made me drink blood?!"

"Of course," Yugi answered calmly while Bakura shook his head sadly. "What else would a newborn vampire drink?"

--

Alright, this is the original way "Horror" bit continued. I wrote this when I was having a huge vampire-boom going wanted to write a creepy and slightly disgusting vampire story, of very non-romantic and non-classy kind. Also I wanted to make Atemu the newborn vampire since it seems to be rare or completely nonexistent with vampire-themed yugioh fics...

Alrighty, to explain things since the chapters don't. Atemu was kept in darkness because if a vampire in middle of his rebirth sees another person, they become subservient to that person. Imprinting or something like that. Yugi is a vampire who was bound into servitude by Ryou's ancestors long long time ago and has served the family since. Ryou is a magician who, in order to repent for the atrocities his family has forced Yugi to commit, hunts down violent evil vampires like Dartz. There was lot more to the plot but I'm still hoping I could continue this one day, so I won't spoil it all.

My apologies for possible grammar errors.


	12. Watcher

**Watcher**

Ryou bit the end of his holopen, glancing up to the translucent board in the front of the classroom. In it was listed the thirty questions of the test, the students in the classroom, the Guardians and the monitoring system watching each and everyone of them -- and of course the allotted time written in big glowing number, second by second running out.

The white haired teen frowned, glancing around the room before turning his eyes back to the see-through answer sheet he was supposed to be filling. All the other students in the frighteningly technological classroom were years younger than him. He, at age of seventeen, was almost five years older than the next oldest student. And though he tried to assure himself that it was alright, he had joined the Foundation at late age, he still felt the age gap painfully clearly.

"Trainee Bakura," one of the Guardians in the room, a particularly intimidating tall one who stood next to the translucent hologram board, snapped. The man motioned a white gloved hand towards the screen next to him. "There is only twenty four minutes left. Please concentrate on your answer sheet."

"Yes sir, sorry sir," Ryou quickly answered and snapped his eyes to the sheet again, now biting his lip. If it had been anything like the schools he ha gone through when he had been younger, there might've been some sniggers coming from the other students… but the Foundation students weren't like that.

_'No, not at all,'_ Ryou mused a bit bitterly. The Foundation students, especially the other trainees, were serious, calm and collected. Posh even. They were the best of the best of schools, the most intelligent ones. And, as Ryou was painfully aware, they were all very young. Youngest one in the room was probably ten years younger than him if not more. Ten years younger than him, and already more intelligent than millions and millions of adults.

How in the name of all good and pure had _he_ ended up being among them?

Trying to shake the never ending confusion of his situation away, the white haired teen forced his eyes to take in the questions in the sheet. The test was quite different from your usual Foundation tests, which usually had up hundreds of questions that demanded perfect answers and nothing less. He was used to those tests, difficult tests that required lot of studying and memory very few had.

But this test was more important than those, and thirty question were the more difficult than the ones demanding facts. These ones couldn't be studied for; these ones couldn't be filled with text-book answers. These questions were answered with opinions and emotions and feelings, not with facts.

Question one; how do you perceive Existence. Question two; how do you perceive the Galaxy. Question three; how do you perceive the Worlds. Question four; how do you perceive Life. Question five; how do you perceive Evolution. The questions were all phrased like that, until the final, most difficult question of all. Question thirty; how do you perceive the Duty of the Guardians.

Ryou shivered. Some of these questions he could answer easily and without problem, others not so much. And the pressing knowledge that quoting books or referencing the usual common knowledge here would mean instant failure made answering the questions even harder. Everyone knew what things like galaxies and plants and such were, but putting down that knowledge known by everyone here wouldn't cut it. The answers had to be truly and wholly unique.

The question about the Duty of the Guardians was no doubt the hardest question of these tests. Thorough all his four years studying in the Foundation he had heard scary stories about the Thirtieth question. There was one factual way of answering it, dozens and dozens emotional and sentimental ones, hundreds and hundreds of fictional ones - and each time it was answered, one answer became invalid. The correct answer was a _new_ one, and that was the hardest to come up with considering that you never could tell if your answer was new or not.

Lifting the pen again, Ryou nibbled the smooth crystal absently. He had answered all the questions except that one. The others had taken time, but only an hour or so. For the last three and half hours he had been dreading the last question and he still had no answer for it. And with each passing second, the ability of answering it at all seemed to get further and further away from him.

The test that determined the rest of his life, he thought grimly. Thirteen years he had lived as planet-bound being, four years he had studied in the space station of the Foundation and now, here, was the moment that determined his whole life. If he couldn't answer the Thirtieth question right, he would be mindswept and sent back to his world to live as if the last four years of his life hadn't even happened.

And when he was honest about it, that was probably what was going to happen. Seventy of every hundred Trainees failed and there was no second chance.

Ryou knew very clearly that he wasn't among the best of foundation students. Sure, he had gotten the rank of a trainee after mere three years of study whilst the average was five years, but it wasn't extra ordinary. Some students went from pupils into trainees within the same year they came to Foundation. Those were genius ones, the ones which high percentage of passing. And despite his minuscule success Ryou wasn't a genius.

If there had been such habit as gambling in the school, the odds would've been against him. He was older than most trainees, he had joined the Foundation at late age, he wasn't intelligent enough to be a genius… he wasn't extra ordinary in any way. With the more intellect trainees there was a low possibility that they were valuable enough to serve the Guardians in some other role than _as_ a Guardian, but all the same avoid being mindswept… Ryou didn't have that possibility.

Pulling the pen from his lips before he would start actually biting it in his nervousness, the white haired teen lowered his hand. He glanced up and grimaced. He had ten minutes left and still no answer to write. On top of that his hand was shaking a little and there was a lump somewhere in his throat, making his breathing difficult.

Duty of the Guardians, duty of the Guardians… the text book answer was simple. The duty of the Guardians was to monitor the power balance of the galaxy and the Living Planets. They were the ones who prevented interplanetary conflicts and protected young worlds before their people grew up to intelligent enough to do it themselves. They were the ones who made sure that no world grew overwhelmingly powerful in comparison to others and that no planet took advantage of others. They were the peace keepers, the watchers, the parents, the Guardians of Worlds.

The factual answer, however, was the wrong one. Ryou knew approximately what the Guardians were looking for in the answer. For a Guardian the duty was more personal than the factual answer. They lived and existed and eventually died for worlds. Their duty was their live and as such very personal. The duty for them was never a duty, but a privilege and pleasure. So the answer to the Thirtieth question was not about the duty of Guardians in general, but what it was for individual Guardian. No, what it was for _Ryou_ should he become a Guardian.

But he had no way of knowing what it would be like. He was a trainee. He had never set his feet upon one planet - his home world - after which he had lived in the artificial environment of the Foundation. Sure, he loved his home world and wanted to protect it and its likes as a Guardian, just like the Guardian who had saved it and who had recruited him… but that… wasn't good enough.

Ryou glanced up again. Six minutes now. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he bit his lower lip again. He had to write _something_. Writing nothing would be even worse than writing wrong answer. It would mean that he hadn't tried at all and he _had_. He had tried for almost four hours - for four _years_ - and he couldn't fail to rise to the challenge now.

He had no logical, well thought answer to give. So, already dreading the mind sweep that was no doubt coming and the homecoming that would follow, he pressed the top of the crystal pen against the translucent answer sheet and wrote the first thing that came to his mind, the last thing he wanted to write.

Few minutes later the Guardians in the room called the examination finished. The holographic answer sheets vanished from before the trainees and with great measure of disappointment, Ryou lowered his pen. Running his shaking hands through his hair, he glanced around. He wasn't the only one who was nervous, nor the only one who thought that they had failed. Between the many nervous ones it was the confident ones that stuck out like sore thump.

"The results will be announced after hundred minutes," the tall Guardian in the front of the class spoke, his icy blue eyes scanning the crowd. "You may leave the classroom in this time, but failure to show up in the announced time will be immediate dismissal. Questions?"

One of the trainees raised his hand. "How many Guardians are taking apprentices this year?" he asked nervously.

"The amount of Guardians present is irrelevant to the amount of trainees that will be accepted as apprentices," the icy eyed Guardian answered, "as some Guardians take multiple apprentices. However currently there are fourteen Guardians and two Grand Guardians present and looking for appropriate apprentices."

The words were received with some measure of shock. Ryou quickly shut his mouth before would end up gaping. _Two_ Grand Guardians? Grand Guardian was a title given to a Guardian who had saved a planet. There were about fifty of those in the entire galaxy and it was very rare for them to accept apprentices, not to mention about looking for one.

"Any other questions?" the tall Guardian asked. In their surprise, the trainees were all quiet. "Good. The time of the announcement of the results will be displayed on to holoboards. Make sure to be on time," he said.

After a stiff bow, the man turned and motioned to the other white-clad Guardians to follow him out of the room. After the automatic door had shut behind them, the room bursted into chatter between the trainees, some asking each other about the Grand Guardians while others were asking how they had answered the Thirtieth question. Ryou himself remained quiet, staring at the numbers ticking away at the board. Ninety seven minutes, twenty three seconds… twenty one… nineteen…

"Hey, Ryou," voice of another trainee asked, making the white haired teen turn around to see that one of his rare friends was sitting not far behind him. "How did you answer the last question?" Mokuba asked eagerly.

Ryou smiled awkwardly and sighed. "Very poorly," he answered. "I kept thinking about it for a long time and couldn't come up with anything. I ended up not answering it until the very last minutes… How about you?"

The black haired boy, only twelve of age and still without doubt the most intelligent person Ryou knew personally, grinned. "I answered it first," he said. "Didn't think about it at all, just wrote down the first thing that came to my mind. The other questions though, they took a bit more time."

The elder trainee grimaced. Mokuba could take the test more casually than others. He was among those few people who were too skilled and too intelligent to be dismissed even if failed. And on top of that Mokuba's brother was a Guardian too according to the rumours, though Mokuba himself had never verified it. His position - and his memories - was more secure than any other trainees, no doubt.

"Hey, Mokuba," Ryou murmured almost wistfully. "Do you know how mindsweep feels like?"

The younger trainee gave him a look and then shrugged. "It doesn't, you know," he answered. "Minsweeps are made when the person is unconscious. You don't feel it at all."

Ryou sighed and nodded, leaning his chin to his palm. That would be horrible, no doubt. He knew now that he would go through the mindsweep and then wakeup back in his planet with no knowledge of the last four years. But when he wouldn't have the memories, it would be even worse. It would be like he had gone from thirteen year old into seventeen year old in a night, like he had lost four years of his life in an instant. And he would never know why or how and would probably spend the rest of his life wondering about it.

No one wanted to go through that. Losing memories and then waking without them… it was horrible fate to consider. Even if he had known what he had signed himself to when he had followed a Guardian out of his world, it had felt like distant, unimportant future then. It had never been as real and as crucial as it was now.

"Whatever happens, it has been nice knowing you, Ryou," Mokuba then said, apparently realising that the possibility of Ryou's failure was high indeed.

"Likewise," Ryou smiled sadly. Neither of them promised to remember each other. It was useless, as there was a chance that they never would. And when Ryou was honest, they weren't close enough to get all emotional about it. They had been in the same class from the start, but in the end they had very little in common. The only reason they were friends at all, was because among the elites, they were both bit of outsiders. Ryou because of his age, Mokuba because of his intelligence and connections.

"Wanna play chess while we wait for the results?" Mokuba asked, his fingers easily opening the control panel of the holographic desk and opening the playing program before Ryou even gave an answer. "I'll let you be white?" the younger trainee offered with a grin as the board materialised to the air over the surface of his desk.

"Aright," Ryou nodded and turned his chair to face the other's desk. Reaching for his crystal holopen, he used it to move one of the pawns on the hologram chess board. "Is your brother here today?" he asked and shrugged his shoulders when the other gave him a look. "However it goes, this is the last day either of us will spend in this place as trainees. Secrecy is a bit of a moot point now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Mokuba answered while flicking his pen to the board and making his move. "And yeah, he is here. He was actually the Guardian in charge of the testing," he said, nodding towards the front of the class. "Seto was the tall guy with blue eyes."

"That was your brother?" Ryou asked curiously an eyed the other thoughtfully. "You don't look much alike. What is he like, your brother?"

"Hmm… Seto says that I look more like our mother while he looks like father," the younger trainee answered and then smiled mirthlessly. "He's… strict. And he is going to skewer me if I fail the test," he added. "He wants me to be his apprentice, but it takes more than opinion of one Guardian for a trainee to pass the test…" he shrugged his shoulders, but was obviously a little nervous.

"I wonder if he knows the Grand Guardians," Ryou murmured.

"He probably does. Seto does lot of team work with high profile Guardians because he has some unique skills. And I think and Grand Guardian Yugi were in same class in Foundation…" Mokuba frowned thoughtfully. "Or was it that they both graduated into apprentices at the same time…?"

Ryou considered for a moment about asking who was Grand Guardian Yugi but decided against it. Unless he gained apprenticeship, the knowledge would do him no good - and he had steered away from studying the Grand Guardians before because tales of their heroics usually gave the trainees false notion that honour and glory were attached to the duty of Guardians. That sort of thing could be a pitfall for best of trainees.

Ryou and Mokuba continued to play in semi silence, listening to the soft chatter of the other trainees and how they came and went from the room. The two of them didn't go anywhere and just waited as the minutes ticked by, glancing every now and then to the holoboard to see how much time was left. It was the most excruciating wait Ryou had had to ever endure, even worse than writing the test had been.

When there was only ten minutes left of the hundred given, Mokuba won the game they had been playing and closed the board. Then the two of them gave each other encouraging smile, shook hands and turned to the board now resigned to accept their fates with as much grace as they could. The other trainees seemed to do the same and the last five minutes of the hundred were spend in complete silence as the graduating class of Trainees sat and wait for their fate.

Then, finally, the Guardians entered the room, Mokuba's tall brother leading them. Each and every one of them was wearing the stark white robes of Guardians, complete with white boots and gloves. Few of them even had masks on. However there were two Guardians in the line of sixteen who wore slightly different clothes. Two of them wore the capes of Grand Guardians.

Ryou wasn't the only one who was staring at the two Grand Guardians. The taller one was much like one could expect from Grand Guardian - tall and proud with long silver hair and poise of one who could do great things. The other, however, was different. He was terribly short and almost shy beside the taller man with bad posture and striking hair. With his wide eyes and childlike face, he looked younger than Ryou, possibly younger than _Mokuba._ There really was a Grand Guardian so young?

"The results will be announced now," Mokuba's brother spoke to the silent classroom. "Those of you whose name is called will come forth and joint your new masters. Those who aren't called will leave the room and report to the to the office hundred and forty one, where they will receive further instructions."

Ryou forced his eyes to the man as the Guardian started calling for names. They weren't called in alphabetical order or in any sort of order at all. Mazaki Anzu and Kawai Shizuka joined their new master, Kujaku Mai. Otogi Ruyji was the lucky one to join one of the Grand Guardians, Crawford Pegasus. Ishtar Marik went with his new teacher, Rishid. Hiroto Honda and Kajiki Ryoka joined their new master, Jonouchi Katsyua. Mokuba went with his brother, Kaiba Seto. And so forth they went.

Until out of no where, Ryou's name was called. "Bakura Ryou, you were selected by Grand Guardian Yugi," Guardian Kaiba Seto spoke, motioning at the short Guardian beside Grand Guardian Crawford. "Please join your master in the front."

Ryou's legs felt like jelly as he stood up and hurried to the front. While he gaped a little at the realisation that his new master didn't even reach his shoulder, master Yugi gave him a gentle smile and motioned him to stand beside him. Swallowing Ryou did so, unable to believe his luck and wondering how the hell he had ended up not only in Foundation, as a trainee, as an _apprentice_ not only to a Guardian but to a Grand Guardian. It felt like a dream. A horrible, wonderful dream and suddenly he was terrified that he was going to wake up soon.

"That is all," Kaiba Seto finally said after all the names had been called. "The rest of you will report to office hundred and forty one as soon as possible. Thank you."

Without further words, the leading Guardian turned to leave the classroom, Mokuba following his tail. One by one the other Guardians followed suit, and when master Yugi moved, Ryou hurriedly followed him.

"Good crop this year," Guardian Kujaku spoke as they entered one of the corridors that students usually didn't get access to. She was talking to Guardian Jonouchi and master Yugi. "Four years in succession I haven't managed to find a student. It was getting rather irritating."

"That is because you're picky, Mai," Guardian Jonouchi murmured while crossing his hands behind his neck and glancing at his two students. "I found good students easy enough."

"That's because you got the luck of a dog," Kujaku snorted, glancing over her shoulder to Ryou's petite master while Guardian Jonouchi growled at the woman. "What do you think, Grand Guardian?" the female Guardian asked.

"About students of the year or about Jonouchi's luck?" the short Guardian asked amusedly, raising his hands in surrender. "I agree with the first one. The last two years weren't so good. But I will take no part in the second part of your discussion."

"How diplomatic of you, Yugi-boy," Guardian Crawford piped in amusedly.

"Why thank you, Grand Guardian Crawford," the smaller Guardian answered, glancing at the taller Guardian. "This would be your… fifth student then?" he asked, glancing at Otogi who, like all of the trainees, was listening with slightly bewildered look about his face.

Ryou shook himself slightly as the Guardians chatted amongst them like good friends. It was surprising considering the fact that Guardians usually worked mostly in solitude. It could be that, being all Guardians, they shared enough to be comfortable around each other, but Ryou doubted it. Most of their banter was too casual and personal to be banter of mere acquaintances.

"Well then," master Yugi spoke suddenly to Ryou, who almost jumped with surprise. "This is where you and I will part from the rest of the crowd," the Guardian said before looking at the others. He bowed his head. "It was nice seeing you all again."

"Likewise, Yug," Guardian Jonouchi said while the other Guardians said something similar. "Drop by before you head off, will you? It's been months since we got the chance to catch up."

"I'll try make the time," master Yugi promised before nodding at the other Guardians and turning to leave. He motioned Ryou to follow him, and hurriedly the white haired teen did so, walking step and half behind his master. He felt even more awkward now that he wasn't alone with his master, but hurriedly swallowed the anxiousness down. He had been chosen already, his teacher was unlikely to throw him aside now.

"Tell me a little about yourself," the petite Guardian then requested. "You're from fairly young society, right?"

"Yes, master Yugi," Ryou answered, nodding his head. "I'm from planet called Domino. It isn't all that developed as far as technology goes and the people have yet to tap into the entire planetary energy circuit. There were some families with the ability to harness the energies of my home world but they aren't strong enough for the planet to go without a Guardian, though."

"You're from one of these families, correct?" master Yugi asked and Ryou nodded. "Good. Most of my duties are to worlds with young societies, usually ones with barely any technology at all. Since you come from one, you shouldn't have much problem understanding them."

Ryou tried and failed to withhold his relieved sigh. He wasn't too good with technology, so this was good news to him.

"If you have any of the abilities those in your family possessed, we will draw them out as time goes," master Yugi continued. "I have similar abilities so I will be able to instruct you there. However I didn't choose you solely because of your past or your potential. It was your answer to the Thirtieth question that caught my attention."

"It… did?" Ryou asked awkwardly, wondering if he should let the petite Guardian know how poorly he answered the question.

"It did," master Yugi nodded calmly and quoted, "_There is no simple answer that a trainee could give. Only Guardians can answer this question with the necessary experience and knowledge that would make the answer valid. A trainee can only simulate the right answer and, ultimately, risk failure because of misinformation_…" he smiled. "That was a… interesting way of answering that particular question."

Ryou flushed. It was a pitiful answer and he had no idea how it hadn't ended him up in the office hundred and forty one with the rest of the failing students.

"Usually trainees don't dare to risk the question, you see. They give complicated, often even poetic answers that dapple in theology and philosophy," master Yugi said. "Some of them are very good and very insightful. You, however, didn't answer the question at all."

"I'm sorry, master Yugi," Ryou whispered.

The short Guardian laughed. "Don't be. I liked the answer. It was honest, pointing out what I, and no doubt every other Guardian who has answered that test, thought at the time but never dared to write down," he said. "It was very risky though. Most of the Guardians today found it somewhat arrogant. If I hadn't been there, you wouldn't have been selected despite your records and your past."

The trainee - or was it apprentice now? - stared at the white floor ashamedly, unable to answer that.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. I chose you and now your tests are over. Well at least the written ones. The next tests you will be facing will be out in the field," master Yugi said. "You have packed your belongings, right?"

"Of course," Ryou nodded, still nervous.

"Good. We will be leaving later today. Our first assignment is pretty far from the Centre so it will take us time to get there and thus I want to get going as soon as possible. I will debrief you about the mission once we're aboard my ship, so don't worry about that," the young Guardian said. "Before that, however, we are getting some food. And then you will get implanted."

"Im… plan… ted?" Ryou asked his eyes widening with surprise. "I'm going to get _implanted_?!"

The short Grand Guardian smiled and nodded, before lowering the high collar of his robes to reveal his neck. He had black metal-collar around it, an energy source for the technology inside him. "I am implanted with several enhancements," master Yugi explained. "I work best with others with enhancements, and as my student you will be obligated at least to get an information transfer implant."

Ryou swallowed. At least? At least a chip that gave you photographic memory and made you nearly _telepathic_? If information transfer chip was the _least_ of the implants Ryou had to get, what other were there? "I would be honoured to," the apprentice answered. No way would he say anything against this. "Though, doesn't it take fairly long to recover from such surgery? Some days at least… How can we be leaving for mission if I'm going to get implanted?"

"You will have all he time you need to recover onboard my ship. That is why you will be implanted now rather than after the mission, as getting implanted now shouldn't hinder your performance," master Yugi answered. "Also, I am talented in medicine and healing so you don't need to worry about the healing process and possible complications. I can deal with those. Unless you'd prefer something else, of course."

"No it's alright, master," Ryou quickly said. He didn't care for the medical wards all that much anyway. "Now is good time."

"Good. I will have someone take your belongings to my ship. In the meanwhile… food," the short Guardian clapped his hands together. "I'm starving."

-

When Ryou woke up, the space around him was softly humming and his head was hurting. For a moment he was disoriented before remembering the last thing before he had fallen under. Medical ward, surgery table, chip implantation. That explained the headache. And the humming noise was explained by the place he was in. Master Yugi had promised him that after falling unconscious for the surgery, he would wake up on the ship.

Carefully sitting up, the apprentice glanced around. The room he was in was spacey and clean. Ryou's luggage stood not far from the comfortable bed he had been lying on, still unpacked and waiting for the time they would be needed. There was a desk in the room along with a backless bench and by the looks of it the desk was similar to Foundation school desk - it had hologram computer integrated into it.

After tentatively inspecting the back of his head and finding to his relief that the surgery scar was already healed and that the whole thing hadn't taken more than small bit of his hair, Ryou stood up. He felt the impact of the artificial gravity immediately - it was just few degrees different than the artificial gravity of the Foundation space station, so it was easy to feel. Especially by one who was slightly nauseous.

Quickly forcing himself to adjust to the difference in gravity and air pressure - he had had training for it so it wasn't too hard to do - Ryou walked up to the desk. After opening the panel, he pressed few keys to open up a simple screen before starting to see if he could figure out if there was a map of the ship on the computer and how long they had been on space - and where master Yugi was.

The ship's name was Puzzle, and they had been on route for twenty six hours and forty eight minutes. "They knocked me out pretty badly huh?" the apprentice murmured while rubbing his neck in attempt to alleviate the headache. The ship's blueprints were easily found and to his relief it wasn't all that complicated. The ship was small with everything connected to the same corridor so navigating should be easy. And by the looks of the life sign signals in the blueprint, Ryou's master was in the cockpit.

_'I wonder if he knows I've woken up…?'_ he wondered while changing his clothes and quickly brushing his hair. Figuring that greeting his master before doing anything else would be prudent, he headed out of the room and into the corridor before following it to the cockpit.

The ship had obviously been made to be piloted by single person. Unlike most ships Ryou had seen, there was no seat for co-pilot and nothing a co-pilot would've been able to do anyway. All the controls were around a single chair, all the screens facing the said chair. And of course in that chair sat master Yugi.

"You're awake. Good. How are you feeling?" the Grand Guardian asked, glancing over the back of the pilot's chair. "You're not throwing up or stumbling around, that's a good sign."

Ryou grimaced faintly. His master made it sound like he had been expecting it. Was nausea side effect of implantation? "I'm… feeling better than I suspected I would be after a surgery, master. My head hurts but that is all."

"Good," the petite Guardian nodded. "We will allow your headache to fade away naturally for now. Once it's gone I can start instructing you how to use the chip." He turned and worked with the controls for a moment before pushing his chair back and standing up. "Let's get you something to eat. After sleeping so long, you'll need it."

Ryou nodded and followed the small Grand Guardian out of the cockpit. He was led into a small kitchen area where his master quickly found something for them to eat, clearly very comfortable and familiar with the spaceship. But then again Guardians spent more time in space than they did on ground or on space stations.

"Here you go," master Yugi said after setting plateful of food before his apprentice. "Tuck in."

The food was simple, obviously some form of derivate from field rations, but the Guardian had managed to make it taste good. While Ryou ate the Guardian brought something to drink as well as some side dishes to the table before sitting down himself.

"It's not gourmet food, but it'll keep us alive and kicking," the Guardian smiled briefly while taking his eating utensils. "You'll get tired of it pretty quickly though. Are you any good at cooking, Ryou?"

"No, master, I'm afraid I'm not," the apprentice answered with awkward smile. "I usually ate at the cafeteria of the Foundation rather than trying to cook myself."

"Well, as long as you know how to turn field rations into edible food, it's fine," his master answered. "And I stocked some sweets while I was on Foundation, they should make it easier for us to handle this tasteless mush."

Ryou smiled faintly and concentrated onto eating. Though master Yugi seemed to be a casual, open person, Ryou still didn't know how act around him. Even up close the Guardian looked younger than him, and yet he was a _Grand_ Guardian. It made Ryou really wish he'd have the courage to ask his master's age and how he gained the title of Grand Guardian.

"You haven't been on a mission before, have you?" the Guardian asked after moment of silence. "There are courses in the Foundation which allow trainees to go with some Guardians on simpler missions… I don't think I saw any in your files."

"No, I took medicine course instead," Ryou answered. "It had better merit and I figured that it would be more useful…"

"You have aptitude for healing then?"

"Well, I don't know about that, master, but I suppose I learned well enough," the white haired teen answered with a sheepish grin. "And I did enjoy the courses. More than I enjoyed planetary science anyway."

The Grand Guardian gave him a thoughtful look. "Well see if you have any talent in healing later on," he then said. "Though if you didn't do well in planetary science, that might prove to be difficult… how much do you remember from that class?"

"General knowledge," Ryou answered, now embarrassed for having never paid enough attention to the one of most important classes in Foundation. "But I can't say I well versed in details. It was a tough class and often I couldn't even understand most of it."

The Guardian chuckled. "That I can understand," he said. "It wasn't too easy when I was studying it, either. Thankfully, with me you don't need to understand the science, but the spirit…. Hmm… tell me, how do you understand Living Planets? And Dead Planets?"

The apprentice gave it a moment of thought. "Living Planets are the worlds capable of producing life without any external aid," he then said carefully. "Dead Planets are the ones which either can never harbour life or which were terraformed to be liveable…"

Master Yugi nodded. "And what makes Living Planets able produce life?"

"The energy inside them," Ryou answered. It was the first thing a student in Foundation learned about, the energy of the Living Planets. That was why Guardians existed after all. "Living planets are like organisms themselves and as such they have energy - lifeblood - which enables evolution. The planet gives energy to whatever lives on the surface and when that living thing dies, the energy is returned to the planet…"

"Good," the Guardian smiled. "And we have Guardians because…?"

"Because the energy of Living Planets can be used as a weapon," Ryou frowned. "If manipulated right it can destroy other planets and even stars. Before Guardians were established, interplanetary wars could destroy entire star systems. Now Guardians make sure that it never happens and that if energy of a Living Planet is harnessed, it is never harnessed as a weapon."

"Very good," master Yugi nodded. "Most of the Guardians have been recruited because they have innate ability to tap into planetary powers without aid of usual technology. I have that power, and you come from family with that ability. However it isn't about just controlling the energy but understanding it and working with it. Planets aren't innate objects, they are living and just like every living thing, they have spirit and mind."

Ryou frowned and nodded. It was well known study; though most people found it ridiculous that planet could have minds. Ryou didn't. The planet he came from had certainly been a spirited place.

"If you have the ability as well, I will teach you how to use it, how to interact with the planets we protect. And if you are good enough, I will teach you healing," the Guardian continued. "As it is no doubt the most useful skill a Guardian can have."

"Really?" Ryou asked with surprise.

The Guardian nodded. "I originally earned my Grand Guardian title thanks to my healing ability. I healed plague that was ravaging in a small Living Planet, which would've wiped out the entire population and all things living in the place," he said. "I nearly killed myself doing it but it was worth it."

Ryou tried not to gape, but it was hard not to. Healing entire _world_? He also didn't miss the fact that the Guardian had said _originally_. It was like he had done several Grand-Guardian-title-worthy deeds. "Master Yugi…" the apprentice started carefully. "How… old are you?"

"Me? I'm fifteen," the Grand Guardian answered and grinned at the shocked look on the student's face. "I know it is tough having a master who is younger than you, but I assure there are many things I can teach you. I've been active Guardian since I was seven. And I've Grand Guardian since I was ten."

Ryou shuddered. His master was a _prodigy_. "That doesn't really make me feel better," he muttered, staring at his food. "If anything, it makes me feel inadequate. Shouldn't your apprentice be a genius like you?"

The Guardian shrugged. "I wouldn't call myself a genius, merely… lucky. And I chose you and that's that. No one says I can't have another apprentice later on, but right now you're the one I wanted," he said. "So don't worry about that."

"I'll try not to," Ryou sighed. It didn't make him better, though. He had heard tales of Guardians who discarded their students after first few weeks. Master Yugi didn't seem so callous, but if Ryou would prove useless, ungifted, simply unfitting to be his student… Ryou swallowed. Even now the threat of mindsweep still loomed somewhere near.

In order to avoid that from happening he would need to keep his master satisfied with his choice, but how could he do that when his master was person like this? "Master, this mission… what is it about?" he asked nervously, praying for easy mission as his first one. Making ass out of himself on difficult and important mission wouldn't help him at all.

"It's pretty simple one. It's to a young Living Planet situated near the rim of the Orion Arm," Yugi answered. "It doesn't have any major technology yet so it has only been loosely monitored for the past centuries, but lately we've been recording some energy anomalies in the planet's surface. It's possible that the people have learned to tap into the world's energy circuit."

The Guardian stopped speaking for a moment to take a drink and then continued. "We are going to investigate the anomalies, and depending what is causing them we will act appropriately," he said. "All together, it's very simple mission. At this speed we will reach the planet in two weeks time."

Investigating. That didn't sound too difficult. Ryou sighed with relief. "Does the planet have a name?" he then asked.

"Yes. I believe it's called Earth."

--

This is the most recent of my works, but I've gotten a bit stuck with it so I'm not sure how far I can continue it. This is an idea I've been wanting to write for ages, though. Mixing very futuristic scifi with those cliched fake ancient Egypt themes, that is. This thing ended up being a cheap Star Wars mimicry and there are some between this and "It came from outer space" but I don't care. I still like it. And lookie lookie, it's not Yugi's pov for once.

My apologies for possible grammar errors. And thank you all for your comments to the previous chapters. I know it's annoying to read unfinished story ideas but I want to get these out in the open in case someone else will be inspirated to write thanks to them. There is never enough inspiration, after all. I don't exactly consider these ideas dead, though. I'm still hoping that one day I can continue writing each and every one of them but you never know with these things. Expecially with my mind being as it is, jumping from idea to idea.


	13. Memento Mori

**Memento Mori**

Seto sighed heavily as he realised that he couldn't move his hands anymore. It had only been a little while ago when he had lost the strength to get up without someone's assistance. Had it been hours, or days or weeks since then? He couldn't remember. All he knew was that he was getting sick and tired with lying around all day. Why did his death have to come to him like this, slowly draining away his strength until only his failing mind was left?

_'Can't be helped,'_ he mused with a heavy sigh, closing his eyes behind the shadows cast over them by his long-since greyed hair. _'You're old man now Seto. Almost ninety… dying of old age, simply enough.'_

He supposed that there were worse ways to die. Like with fire, like Mutou Yugi had all those years ago. Or in plane crash like Bakura Ryou. The mutt had died to cancer just some twenty years ago. How had Mazaki died? Or Honda? He couldn't quite remember… he didn't really care that much either. The only deaths that really mattered to him were the death of Mutou Yugi and Seto's own little brother. Mokuba had been robbed away from him by a heart condition no one had dared to suspect. Even at seventy Mokuba had still been so damn lively that they had thought he'd live forever at least.

Seto let out a raspy laugh. He had lived the longest of all of them. He had lived to see almost four generation of nieces and nephews - four generations! Starting with Mokuba's little girl Aiba and son Tenba. Then Aiba's little brat Chikuba and Tenba's son Bariki. And finally Chikuba's kids, little Mokuba junior and his sister Uma. Mokuba junior's wife was just pregnant, but Seto knew he wouldn't live to see the birth of the yet another generation of Kaibas.

_'No wonder I lost track of Mokuba's brats, he got too many of them. Brats and grand brats and great grand brats…' _With a soft chuckle Seto closed his eyes. Mokuba had bred a nice lineage of heirs for their family and company. Tenba was currently the CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, but Seto knew that it would be soon passed onto either Chikuba or Mokuba junior since Tenba wasn't so young anymore. It would probably be Chikuba who would take over, he had more experience and Mokuba junior was still young and now busy with starting a family.

After moment of thinking about his little brother's children, Seto felt a tiniest bit of amusement over the fact that he had never gotten any. It was a bit sad too. Sure, he had been there for his nieces and nephews - he was the slightly scary great uncle of their lives. But it would've been nice to have a grandkid or few of his own. If not any other reason then to boss them around from his death bed.

_'This dying business seems to take forever,'_ Seto mused with a sigh, tiredly staring up to the ceiling of his bedroom. Then he glanced over the room around him. His bedroom in the Kaiba mansion which had been his home for decades. The mansion would go to Aiba since she was the oldest of Mokuba's brats. She had good brain on her even if she had never wanted to use it to make much of herself. Little Aiba would take good care of the mansion. _'Not so anymore little, she's almost sixty already,'_ Seto chuckled. _'Grandma Aiba.'_

Closing his eyes momentarily, Seto turned his thoughts away from the breeding of his little brother's genes into his own live. Had he lived it well? Had he accomplished anything? _'Well, I did end up creating whole new era for technological advancement…'_ Seto chuckled. _'That's nothing to sneer at. First hologram technology, then the virtual reality technology and with it new level of cyberspace, then robotics… yeah, I think I will be remembered for years to come…'_

Seeing movement in the corner of his eyes, Seto turned his head to look at it. He stared for a moment before he snorted softly at the sight of the young man - teen really - who was standing beside his bed. Mutou Yugi, just as he had been all those years ago. Leather pants, collar around his neck, ridiculous hair and all. "Well, don't you look nice and young," the old man said softly.

"Well, you know me, forever young and all," Yugi chuckled at him, folding his hands - sleek, small and smooth hands, nothing like Seto's own bony wrinkled ones. "You look horrible."

"Well, I think I can be allowed to look horrible. I'm dying after all," the old man said with a raspy laugh which ended in soft a cough. For a moment Seto thought about asking Yugi to give him a glass of water but he decided against it. He was so close to death that it didn't matter anymore, staying hydrated.

Instead he turned his eyes to the entirely too young man at the side of his bed. Yugi's face hadn't changed, but that was given. His clothing was exactly like Seto remembered from back when they had been nothing but brats themselves. Even in seventy years Yugi's sense of style hadn't changed. "I'm sorry," the old man said. "About the fire and all."

"Yes, I know," the young man chuckled at him with a smile, his wide amethyst eyes warm with fondness as he sat to the bed's edge. "It was long time ago, Seto. I think we can safely say that it's behind us."

"Yes, but you still died," Seto sighed, wishing he could reach out to touch the other. "I didn't mean to kill you. You know that, right? I never meant to kill you."

"You didn't kill me," the young man answered softly, reaching his still young, still smooth hand out to take Seto's old one into his. Yugi's hand was just as soft as his voice, just as warm. "You didn't cause the fire, Seto. It was accident, no one could've predicted it of prevented it. And you did your best to save me. You know you did."

"I'm still sorry," the old man sighed, closing his eyes. Then he smiled crookedly. "I would've loved to see you grow wrinkles. With that face of yours you would've looked interesting as an old man."

"I would've probably looked something similar to way my grandfather used to look like," Yugi answered with a soft smile, his fingers gentle as he rubbed them over the back of Seto's wrinkled hand. "Without the bandana though. I don't think it would fit me as well as it fit him."

Seto chuckled, cracking one eye open and peering at Yugi's spiky hair. It was still in that weird split of bright gold and dark magenta but Seto preferred it like that. "Did you ever want brats?" the old man then asked, thinking back to the legion of his little brother's kids.

"I never really thought about it. Since my death I've been content watching over Mokuba's kids. And Jonouchi's and Anzu's and Honda's and Otogi's and Ryou's…" Yugi trailed away with a smile. "They all had beautiful children; it has been good enough for me to watch how they grew up to be adults and had children of their own."

"Even though you never were able to have any of your own?" Seto asked with a frown.

"Even so. In them I saw well enough what sort of children I could've had, that was enough for me," Yugi assured with a chuckle. "You never had any children either."

"Aiba and Tenba scared me so much that I never wanted any, whiny little monsters that they were," Seto said solemnly, getting a soft laugh out of the young man. "Nah. Mokuba ended up breeding so well that I never needed to. Mokuba's brats have always been like my own, living in my house and all. They've been my heirs as much as they've been his," he sighed with annoyance. "Especially since Mokuba had the gall to die before me. That little bastard."

Yugi smiled gently. "I don't think he did it on purpose, Seto," he answered.

"Not only did he die before me, but he was in so much better condition than I was," Seto grumbled. "Damn him and his athletic hobbies. Not that they did him any good. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway," he laughed before frowning. "Though I guess his way of dying was better than this. This is taking too long. How long do you suppose I need to lie here before I kick the bucket?"

Yugi chuckled, his fingers gently brushing up and down Seto's wrist. "Not that long, I think," he answered a little sadly, before raising the wrinkled hand and pressing a soft kiss to the bulging veins in the inner side of the wrist. "You've lived a long and impressive live," the young man said softly. "And now you die comfortably in your own bed. It's not that bad way to die."

"Hm…" Seto looked at the young man with serious eyes, trying to take a hold of the hand holding his. His fingers were already too weak for him to do it, but Yugi realised what he wanted and carefully grasped his hand. "I... think I'm going to miss you," the old man said softly, closing his eyes against the tears. He was entirely too old to cry. "And... I don't think I ever said it. But I really do... respect you, Yugi."

"I know," the young man whispered with choked voice and sad smile. He raised his head and leaned in to kiss the old man's lined forehead. "I feel the same, Seto. I always have."

"Even though I killed you?" the old man smiled, keeping his eyes closed as the young man's soft lips brushed over the bridge of his nose. They felt so real even though he knew they weren't. "Even though I'm nothing but an old man now?"

"You didn't kill me Seto. Even if you had, it was long ago. It doesn't matter," Yugi whispered, pressing his lips gently to Seto's wizened cheek. "And age has nothing to do with feelings. Especially not with my feelings."

The dying man chuckled dryly, opening his eyes to see that the young man was holding his own closed. "You're a fool. A romantic fool but fool nonetheless," he murmured fondly, closing his eyes again as Yugi's unreal lips passed over his own dry ones. "Will you stay with me?" Seto then asked, his lips brushing against the other's as he spoke. "Will you keep me company until I'm gone?"

"I'll stay," the young man whispered and kissed him again. "Until the very end."

--

In the night before he left, Atemu told me something that I have never been able to forget since. He said, that even though his memories had returned and even though he now knew who he was, he couldn't quite recall what living felt like. "It has been so long since I lived that I've forgotten my own mortality. But even so, I'm not quite dead," he said. "It's a strange feeling. It's like I'm empty, like there are too many things missing. I feel cold, Yugi. So very cold."

The only reason I could let him go that day was because I knew. He couldn't go on the way he had. He was living outside his time and he wasn't comfortable with it. He had never been. Even before he remembered, back when I still called him 'my other self', he wasn't comfortable with the way he was. He knew he was dead, he never worded it, but it was always so obvious that he had to know.

But to forget your own mortality? When he said that, I didn't know what to say. I still don't know what to think of those words, years later. The words were so heavy back then and they feel even heavier now that I've gained a little bit of wisdom that comes with age.

We humans are doomed to die from the very first breath we take. Some fear death and try to keep it at bay with healthy living and such. We have medicine and hospitals to keep us alive when our wounds or diseases would kill us. These days we live much longer than people did during Atemu's time, but we still die and every single one of us knows it. Some die sooner than others, others die quicker than some, but we all die.

To remain after that?

I shared my mortality with Atemu for a while. In my body he got a taste of what it was to live and breathe again, but even so he was beyond death. If my body would've died, he would've just gone back to the Puzzle and lived on as the wraith he was doomed to be. Even whilst surrounded by my mortality and the mortality of my friends, he was still immortal. I think that might've frightened him more than anything. Even though he didn't say it aloud, he was terrified that he would be forced to remain the way he was even after I and all my friends would be gone.

I can understand why so many people crave for immortality. It seems like the perfect fantasy. To remain forever young, to see the passing of time, to witness the development of the world in way no one else can! That seems like something great. But when I understood my other self's greatest fear, I understood that people don't know what they're talking about when they talk of immortality.

I met Atemu only because he was living outside his time. But even now I wish that he could've died like a normal man all those thousands of years ago. Immortality brought him nothing but terror and pain, even if he never let it show. Sometimes he craved companionship of friends and loved ones even more than I did just because he was terrified that he would be left completely alone. He had already been forced to leave everything familiar behind him and to live in world of future he didn't know and didn't understand. He was worried that it would happen again.

The immortality was consuming him. He had already forgotten what it had felt like back when he had been living. He had even forgotten himself and for so long he hadn't even known if he had ever been human at all. Sometimes he feared that he was nothing but a wraith of magic, something that had never truly existed, something that was given a make belief existence by the powers beyond our understanding. Not to be sure of your very existence as a human… I can't even imagine that sort of pain.

Even though it tore me from the inside, even though I didn't want to see him go… I defeated him that day. I sealed his fate and then I watched how he finally left his immortal existence behind - how he left me and my mortality behind. And even though I cried for countless nights afterwards, I still know that I did the right thing.

Those born mortal should die mortal deaths. And those who are dead should stay dead, for their own sake.

--

I've been rereading some of my Yugioh stories to get back into the swing of things and hopefully continue some unfinished ones, and while doing that I remembered this one. Mememto Mori, one of my favourite ideas which I never managed to write too well. The first bit was supposed to be the story's epilogue and the latter one was the prologue, but in hindsight I think they work better other way around. I'm not going to explain how the story between the two bits goes, though. It would ruin the two pieces I think and I'm still hoping I could write the actual story one day. Also, I'm a bit possessive of the plot.

My apologies for possible grammar errors and such.


	14. Change

**Change**

The day Mutou Yugi would never forget, begun as a normal day. It was a day off school and he had been using it to catch up with his school work. With all the duelling and adventures he had been more or less dragged into lately, his school work had suffered more than slightly and he had wanted to at least stop his grades from dropping. Getting then back to their original state at that point was a dream he didn't give any time. Another tournament, another adventure, another distraction from normal every day life would just bring them crashing down before long.

Though, as much as he would have wanted to actually be serious about studying, he knew that the first sign of trouble would have him grabbing his jacket and running out of the door - and right towards the source of the said trouble. Even if he had been a peace loving nobody just few years back, he had had several changes of heart and now part of him existed solely for excitement. But even so he still tried to reach back to the him who had actually cared of academic success and tried to prepare for the future.

_'Though, honestly saying, it's impossible to prepare for anything with the life I'm living,'_ the teen mused while raising his hand to absently finger the golden puzzle hanging from his neck like a particularly gaudy piece of jewellery.

_'You're making it seem like a bad thing, Aibou,'_ teasing voice came from some distant corner of his mind solely dedicated to the other soul inhabiting his body. Then, without a sound or a sensation, a spirit appeared beside him and casually leaning his hip against Yugi's desk with his hands folded. The spirit had a knowing look on his face. _'As much as you gripe about it during slow days like these, you love uncertainty as much as I do.'_

The youth snorted amusedly. _'I don't love it,' _he denied with a silent thought that the other could hear as plain as spoken words_. 'I enjoy it on occasion, that much I can admit, but I don't live for it as much as you do. No matter what you think, I rather think things through before jumping into dark pits and such… oh, shut up,'_ he added when the other just grinned at his words.

The spirit raised his hands in mock surrender. "I didn't say anything," he said out loud.

_'You were thinking about it,'_ the other narrowed his eyes before turning them to his school work. _'You are murder for my grades, I swear,'_ he then sighed mentally while whirling his pen in his fingers. He gave his text books a rather mournful look. Most of the stuff he had been trying to study made very little sense to him. _'At this rate I'll have to repeat a year.'_

"And that's a bad thing?" the spirit asked amusedly.

_'Yes it is. I'd like to graduate some day. And possibly go to a college. And maybe even get a degree and have a job and such,'_ Yugi sighed, rubbing his hand over his forehead before leaning forward to read through the homework again. _'Despite everything, I am going to grow up one day and I doubt that playing card games will sustain me then. And Grandpa isn't going to be around forever and even if he would be, I doubt he'll appreciate me living here and mooching off him indefinitely.'_

The spirit was quiet before folding his hands again and looking away. "I suppose," he answered with a slightly forced undertone in his voice.

The youth sitting by the table sighed. _'I'm sorry, my other self,'_ he murmured with guilt. _'I didn't mean to…'_

"To rub it in?" the other asked with a smile. "It's alright. And I understand that you are, sometimes, worried about your future - it's only natural. I'm just… not quite as interested future careers and such."

_'Yeah, no wonder. You have bigger things to worry about,'_ Yugi mused, turning his eyes to the books again with a frown. The spirit's past and lack of memories was a sore subject between them. It was easier to talk about it with others, but between them the subject was painful because they were constantly aware of each other's emotions and thoughts. Unless one of the blocked the other out, but ever since the Battle City had ended, they had swore not to do that.

"Yugi!" a voice coming from downstairs called for the teen's attention, making him look up. "There's a phone call for you! It's Ishizu Ishtar!"

Yugi blinked and glanced at the spirit who frowned back. Without word or emotion passing between them, Yugi stood up while the spirit vanished. By the time they reached the door, the control of the body had been passed between them, and Yugi had stepped aside.

"Did she say what she wanted, Grandpa?" the spirit asked through Yugi's mouth after they had climbed the stairs down.

"No, she just said that she wanted to talk to you," the old man said while handing the phone to him. "I'll go back to the shop in case customers come by," Sugoroku then added and left them to answer the phone alone.

While Yugi pressed closer so that he could hear through his body's ears, the spirit took the phone to his ear. "Ishizu," he answered to the silence waiting in the speaker. "I thought you and your brother returned to Egypt?"

"Yes, my pharaoh, we did. This is a long distance call," the woman answered, her voice lightly distorted by the phone. "I apologise for disturbing your Sunday but I have came upon something I believe you need to be made aware of. A scroll of old Shadow Magic…"

The spirit frowned while Yugi felt a twinge of worry coming from him. "What sort of magic?" the spirit asked.

"It is a ritual, a very old and rather dangerous one, impossible for any normal human to perform… but us Millennium Item holders… might be able to do it," the woman answered before coughing softly a if to gather her courage. Then she spoke again, "It's a ritual that will grant a body to a spirit without one."

Yugi gasped softly and the spirit in control of his body tensed slightly. They were both quiet for a moment before the spirit found his voice again. "Where exactly did you find such a ritual?" he asked.

"From the Ishtar libraries. Hundreds of scrolls worth of ancient knowledge is persevered there. I don't usually pay much mind to them, I'm after all a Seer and therefore I'm more interested in the records of prophesies our family has kept, but…" the woman chuckled somewhat awkwardly. "But even the library has to be cleaned every now and then. While doing that, I came upon the scroll."

Yugi sighed while the spirit in control of his body covered his eyes with his hands. _'The Ishtars have records of ancient knowledge but they don't make use of them?'_ Yugi wondered with silent groan. _'My other self isn't going to like the sound of that…'_

"If you have such records, I must presume that you have studied them thoroughly," the spirit spoke the forced calm.

"Like said, I do not. I find that written history has tendency of sometimes fogging my Sight. And Malik, being as he is, doesn't really care for such things. Rishid, however, has studied the old scrolls for many year - that is how he came up with the ritual that controls Malik's darker half," the woman answered. "But many scrolls have useless information in them - and translating from ancient hieroglyphics takes time. Some of the scrolls are written in dialects no one remembers - as is this scroll. Which is probably why he never noticed the value of it before."

_'That's a bit relieving,'_ the spirit thought and Yugi smiled slightly. "If it's written in dialects that no one remembers, how could you understand it?"

"With the help of my Millennium Item of course," the Seer answered. "Now, my pharaoh, you do understand what this ritual means? You could have a body of your own. Malik will finally be freed from his darker half once and for all. And Bakura Ryou too, should he choose to participate."

"Hm. Yes, I did realise that," the spirit of a pharaoh murmured, turning to look at Yugi's spiritual form with a frown. They were both quiet for a while before Yugi shrugged his shoulders. The spirit nodded and spoke again, "How does this ritual go? Would it require all the items, would we all need to participate in the spell casting? And are any sacrifices necessary?"

"No, it doesn't require sacrifices and it only needs one spell caster, but the power requirement is rather high. I can do the spell casting, but we require the power of the Millennium Items," Ishizu answered. "At least yours, Ryou's and Malik's. And my own of course. With them present and working as power sources, I should be able to cast the ritual."

The spirit was quiet for a moment but though Yugi could hear him thinking, he gave privacy to the thoughts and didn't listen to them. "I will discuss this with my partner and my friends - Ryou included. Could you call back in day or two?"

"Of course. I will call back two days from now, around this same time," the woman answered. "But I want you to know that even if you and Ryou will not join the ritual, I will still perform it on Malik. He has been living under his darkness for far too long, and I wish to give him the peace of mind he lost all those years ago."

"Understandable," the spirit of a pharaoh nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for informing me about this Ishizu."

"You're welcome, my pharaoh. I'll look forward to hearing your decision in two days," the woman answered before hanging up.

There was a quiet for a moment a the spirit hung up as well. _'What will we do?'_ Yugi asked quietly as the other merely stared at the phone.

_'I don't know, Aibou. Having a body of my own, it seems like…'_ the spirit shook his head and turned to look at him with a slightly bothered look about his face. _'Let's call our friends, organise a meeting and talk this through. Ryou at least needs to know about this, the spirit of his Millennium Item is almost as bad as Malik's…'_

Yugi nodded. _'Yeah…'_ he agreed. He wanted to add more, to say that he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to separate from the spirit of his item… but in the end he didn't say anything out loud. It wasn't his decision after all. _'Let's call the others.'_

The spirit nodded and turned to the phone again.

-

"I don't really see what there's to talk about," Jonouchi spoke through the mouthful of hamburger he had just bitten. he was looking at the dark Yugi who was staring at his hamburger silently. They were at the Burger World, each with a fast food meal before them. "It'll give you your own body! Wouldn't things be, you know, easier that way?"

"Gods, Jonouchi, swallow before you open your mouth! You're spewing your food all around," Anzu muttered with a grimace of distaste while moving away from him. "Though he does have a point," she conceded.

"Well, I don't know about it being easier, there's the whole thing about people appearing out of nowhere…" Honda murmured, giving the others a thoughtful look. "Sure, it would be cool for the pharaoh to have his own body, but there's the whole legal aspect too. He doesn't have a birth certificate, no pass port… nothing."

"You'll find that when magic is in involved, legalities have very little control over things," the spirit murmured while glancing at transparent Yugi who was standing behind him and leaning onto the back rest of his chair. _'What do you think about this?'_

_'I don't know,' _Yugi answered honestly._ 'If you will get a body of your own, you will live with me of course, we would get another bad to my room and so forth… We could maybe even make it seem like you're my brother or something. We're almost identical so we could even pass off as twins,'_ the transparent teen sighed with a frown. _'But Honda is right about the paper work. You need identification for almost everything these days; what if someone starts digging into your past? You don't really have one.'_

"Hmm…" the spirit leaned back and folded his hands. Then he glanced up to Ryou who was silently looking out of the window. "Ryou," he spoke, starting the white haired teen out of his thoughts. "What do you think? Are you going to take part in the ritual?"

"Of course," the other answered without hesitation. "All I'm worried is about my Dark stealing the Millennium Ring as soon as he will get a body of his own, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

_'With them it isn't like with us,'_ Yugi thought with a frown. _'Malik and Ryou don't have to think about what comes afterwards like we do since they don't care for their darks or their fates. All they want is to get rid of them.'_

The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle cracked a small smile. _'And you don't?'_ he asked teasingly.

_'No. No I don't,'_ Yugi answered with a whisper and turned his eyes away. Then he glanced at the other with a forced smile. _'But it isn't like you're going to go away even if you'll get a body, right? We'll still be together.'_

The spirit smiled at him before looking at the others. "Anzu, what do you think?"

"I think that if paper trail is necessary, Kaiba can make it," the girl answered, while lifting her cup to take a sip of her soda. "He should be able to do thing like that, you know? And he certainly owes it to us."

"Yeah, that's a good point," Jonouchi nodded, turning to look at the spirit of the Puzzle. "Let's have money bags do it. Faking an ID should come easily for someone like him you know?"

_'Yeah, probably. But we would need to let him know about this,'_ Yugi thought. _'And having him actually believe any of this wouldn't exactly be easy, you know. He's the most magic intolerant person I've ever met.'_

The spirit chuckled silently. _'True, very true, but even he would be forced to face the facts if he got face to face with two Mutou Yugis,'_ he agreed before shaking his head. _'Though that is right now completely beside the point. Will we do this or not?'_

_'Don't ask me,'_ Yugi answered with a shrug of his shoulders and looked away. He didn't want to do this, they had been together for few year now and he had gotten adjusted to it. He didn't want separate from the other so suddenly… but he wouldn't say it out loud. _'It's your life, not mine. Your existence. So the choice is yours.'_

_'Yes, but should I choose to stay as we are, then it is your existence too.'_

_'You know perfectly well that I've never minded your presence,'_ the teen smiled at the ancient spirit. _'And I certainly wouldn't mind if you would chose to stay like this. I meant what I said when I told you that I would share my memories and life with you.'_

_'I know, but it still feels unfair for me to live as parasite in your life…'_ the spirit frowned. _'If I had my own body then I wouldn't be a parasite anymore, but in the same time… it's been easier to be able to fall behind your life. I don't know if I'd know what to do with myself when I have my own body. This world still seems strange to me at times.'_

Yugi closed his eyes, realising that it had been decided already. The spirit only needed a nudge to the direction of his choice to realise it. _'You would continue as we have so far, I think. Playing games and trying to figure out your past. Trying to find your memories. And of course, I'd be there all the way,'_ he answered with a sad smile and looked at the others in the table. It hurt to say it, but he wasn't selfish enough to turn the situation to favour his own thoughts in the matter. It wasn't _his_ choice to make after all. _'Just like our friends would be.'_

_'Yes… yes, I suppose so,'_ the spirit sighed and looked up to the others who, realising that they had been having a silent conversation, had been waiting for his decision. "We'll do it," he then said. "I'll tell that to Ishizu when she calls. I'm going to ask her if we can perform the ritual here, I don't want to force Yugi to travel to another country for me. Does that sound alright to you, Ryou?"

"Yeah, it sound perfect," the white haired teen nodded. "Tell her that even though she's not doing this for me, I'm really grateful."

"I will," the spirit nodded.

_'By the way, are you going to eat that?'_ Yugi asked, glancing at the untouched hamburger before his other self. _'Because it looks really good… and you're wasting it, letting it get cold like that.'_

The spirit chuckled. _'Go ahead, Yugi,'_ he said and relinquished the control over the body to Yugi, who immediately grabbed the burger and took a bite out of it. _'You glutton,'_ the spirit thought to him fondly while taking Yugi's previous place behind the chair. _'Though I suppose you need all the nourishment you can get, being so short…'_ he trailed away with a frown. _'I wonder, will I be as short as you in my new body?'_

Yugi ignored him and looked at the others. Swallowing the bite he had taken, he pointed at them seriously with his hamburger. "Now, to more important matters," he said with death serious voice. "What will we name my other self?" he asked while the spirit behind him sent a wave of mortification at him. "We can't keep calling him another-me like we have, it would look really weird… and we can't go around calling him pharaoh either."

"Hey, you're right," Anzu spoke thoughtfully before grinning. "Hey, when the pharaoh has a body of his own he'll look like you, right? You will look like twins or something, so… how about Yuki?"

"Yugi and Yuki. Fitting," Jonouchi grinned.

"Two peas in a pod," Honda nodded in agreement.

The spirit scoffed with outrage. _'You are_ not _naming me after snow!'_ he turned to Yugi who was grinning around the straw of his soda. _'Yugi! Tell them!'_

"I think it fits," Yugi answered and was promptly smacked to the back of the head by his incorporeal partner. "But I don't think he agrees," he added reluctantly, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly while the others chuckled at him.

-

Once upon a time I tried to rewrite Bit of a Change.


	15. God of Games

**God of games**

"Sugoroku…" soft, deep voice spoke from the corner of the living room, making the old gamer whirl around in surprise. Mutou Sugoroku, former archaeologist and presently a keeper of honourable gaming store, had not heard that voice in near fifty years - he had heard two different versions of it, one just hour or so go in that same room, but not this voice. The voice in which's echo you could hear the clatter of dice and shuffle of cards.

"Senet!" the old store keeper gasped at the sight of the tall, lean man with hip long hair -- hair that was deep purple in the back and bright gold from the front. Just like fifty years ago at their first meeting, the man's skin was pale as if sun had never touched it and his clothing were strange, odd mixture of modern and ancient wardrobe which made them seem eerily familiar and yet completely foreign. The strange man's eyes shone in deep violet in the darkness of the corner. He hadn't aged a day, which both did and didn't shock Sugoroku.

"W-what are you -- why…" The old gamer tried to speak but couldn't form a coherent question at the beginning. Then he coughed more to clear his mind than to clear his voice. "W-where is Yugi?"

The tall pale man smiled slightly, closing his eyes in very familiar expression. "He will return," he assured. "I'm sorry that I'm ah… dishonouring our agreement, Sugoroku, by showing up in this form again, but I… I need to speak to someone and you are pretty much my only… friend."

The old gamer blinked with surprise and then quickly put away the papers he had been going through. "I don't mind, not at all. Please, do sit," he said, motioning the chair across the coffee table. "Do you want something to drink, or…"

"Tea would be nice," the long haired man smiled somewhat shyly and stepped further into the light, showing more of his strange partially black and partially white clothing. As the old gamer quickly went to get his companion the asked tea, the tall man sat to the plush armchair with a deep sigh, the shortness of the chair making his frame seem taller and thinner than it actually was.

"Thank you," Senet thanked Sugoroku after the old man had returned and was handing the cup to him. "I usually don't care much for tea - not really my drink - but I feel cold tonight… maybe this will warm me up," he muttered and took sip of the bitter drink.

"Has something happened?" Sugoroku asked with a frown. "I know that the Sennen Puzzle has, hm, affected our normal life, but…"

"I didn't mind," Senet interrupted with a smile while warming up his long, thin fingers with the tea cup. "You didn't know that the Sennen Puzzle was as powerful as it was, you didn't know that the effects could be as strong as they were - and even if they were I didn't really mind. The Puzzle was challenge - the kind of challenge I could truly enjoy. For that I thank you, but…"

"The spirit, this is about the spirit," Sugoroku frowned.

"I… tolerated him," Senet shrugged slightly. "And it was alright, no matter how powerful he is, he is still merely a human and I could fool him just as I fool everyone else, but now… I'm aware that you are not aware of all things so maybe I should explain it all to you…"

"The spirit of the Pharaoh, Yami as he's called now… today he got his own body and has left my soul," the tall man touched his chest, ignoring the surprised look on the old man's face. "I really don't mind, I'm relieved that he is gone and I no longer have to go on faking in my very soul, but there remains a connection between me and him… and coldness is seeping through the connection into me."

"Coldness…?" Sugoroku asked with confusion.

"His powers are the shadows," Senet smiled a somewhat pained smile. "And mine works in conjunction with the light. He feels cold to me and this connection between us… because I cannot block it without alarming him - and great number of humans along with him - his darkness and coldness seep into me and I feel… weaker."

"But… you're a god, aren't you?" Sugoroku asked in shock. "Yami, no matter who he is, is just a human, how could he weaken you?"

"He is human, but his can tap into limitless source of power - the Shadow Realm. And I, as a god…" Senet sighed. "Originally I was the weakest god ever to have existed in any realm. One of the reasons why I was trapped in that tomb where you found me was because I was simply too weak to get out. Since then, in these last fifty years, my powers have been getting stronger - in the absence of other gods my influence is great and as I influence the world I get stronger - but I am still weak. He, in terms of power, is on the par with me."

Senet sipped the tea again before lowering the cup and staring into the dark liquid in it. "And his power combined with the powers of the others holding the similar items as he does… they could over power me easily. Because of that I cannot fight against the bond, I cannot alert them that I still remain as the single living god of this world… because they could kill me easily."

Sugoroku paled and swallowed. "Do they have any idea? Do they know that Yugi is…"

The god shook his head. "No, I've managed to hide it from them, but somehow… the pharaoh needs my life force to get stronger in his new human body. He is still weak so the bond is strong, sucking half of my energy so that he can get his full strength back. In a month he will be strong enough to survive on his own power, but I… I'm not sure if I can keep the pretence going on for that long - unknowingly he is sucking more of me than I can bear to give. Yugi is weak physically, if this goes on I will have to start to rely on my own power to simply keep him functioning and in the moment I do that the pharaoh will know."

Sugoroku frowned. "Are you certain that that would be a bad thing? That they would know? The pharaoh is a good person and so are the others - at least to some extent…"

Senet shook his head. "You don't understand. The Shadow Games pharaoh and his likes are playing out there right now are result of _me_. The original game was born not much after I was born - the other gods pretty much blamed me for it, some humans as well. That was the reason I was locked in that tomb originally - they were afraid that my influence would create another thing as powerful and dangerous as the Shadow Games."

"Eventually," the god continued. "The Pharaoh will come into the conclusion that the shadow games have to be locked away again. If upon that time he knows about my existence he and the others will think as many did back then. The reopening of the shadow games will be my influence's fault in their eyes and to protect the world they will either lock me away or just kill me."

Sugoroku gasped, paling even more. "Is it your fault?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Every time god is born, something is born to balance the creation of such entity. Shadow Games balanced my birth, all the gods knew as much but none of them understood why such a powerful thing was created to balance such a weak god," Senet sighed sadly. "But here, in this time… I understand. Just by looking around I see my own influence and I know that one day I will rule this world and the minds of most of the humans living here," he smiled slightly. "The Shadow Games had to be powerful to balance my future power - power that I'm almost already grasping… maybe they were reopened because of my influence, because I am free again. It wouldn't surprise me much…"

The man was quiet for a moment staring at his tea cup. "The Shadow Games need to be closed. This world cannot withstand them. And maybe… maybe I will have to die with them," Senet sipped his tea again.

The lost look on the God's face made Sugoroku realise that the man before him was really distraught. And it was no wonder really, if what the god was saying was true. The former archaeologist really hadn't thought that anything like this could happen when he had made agreement with the god fifty years ago. He had seen Senet's influence though - had seen how more and more games were created - word games, card games, board games, dice games, puzzles from jigsaw to logic, then as the technology advanced came the video games and the whole new worlds within them, more and more each year… sport turned into entertainment broadcasted world wide and watched by millions of people, more casinos popped up, gaming centres, gaming tournaments… internet was created and long with it came the online games… more and more…

He had thought that it was just the god's influence; now that Senet was free again his power washed over the earth and people played. Now he realised that whilst Senet was influencing the world, the world was influencing Senet - even while the god hid carefully, he was getting stronger. And apparently nothing was without drawbacks.

"What do you think will happen?" Sugoroku asked quietly. "Will I lose Yugi?"

Senet looked up and smiled slightly. "I don't know," he said sadly. "I can't see into the future, I can't even command fortune. I'm just the God of games and no matter in which form they are or who is playing them, games cannot see into the future. I don't know if I'll live to see the next year or the next month - I'm not even sure about tomorrow. I'm just… cold, afraid, confused…" he sighed heavily and took another sip of his tea. "And I feel so very alone. Now more than ever I feel like I'm living on a borrowed time and it will come to an end soon - that I, like every other god before me, will succumb to the disease in human kind called scepticism."

"I thought games didn't need faith."

"They don't, but if you have faith in them you don't lose in them," Senet smiled and put the now empty tea cup away. "One of the reasons why the pharaoh cannot lose is because he has, and probably will always be, my strongest worshiper. No one has such faith in games as he does. You also should know that if you put a little but trust in the cards you're holding or the dices you're rolling, they will answer to you."

Sugoroku smiled sheepishly and nodded, but the cheer was short lived. "If you die… if the Pharaoh and others will seek to destroy you… will Yugi die also?"

Senet looked at the old man before looking down to his long fingered hands. "Yugi is… a charade, Sugoroku. Just like Shiai was. Shiai was just another face for me, so is Yugi. When I perish, so shall he."

The old man sighed. Shiai, his 'son', and Yugi, his 'grandson', were both Senet's creations. Sugoroku had always been unable to have children, so in their agreement he had asked to have child and a grandchild from Senet. Senet hadn't had the power to just create human beings - he was the god of games after all - so they had settled for the next best thing. Senet, who had needed time to get his power back anyhow, had taken the form of Shiai, a baby boy whom Sugoroku had then raised as his own. Thirty-three years later - seventeen years ago - Shiai had supposedly died in a car crash and Yugi had appeared as Shiai's son. In all those fifty years Sugoroku hadn't heard from Senet himself so it had been easy to pretend that Shiai and Yugi really were his by blood and not just another form for a single entity. Especially since both had had personalities very different from Senet's and from each others.

"It's the strangest thing," Senet murmured sadly, still staring at his hands. "Of all of this uncertainty what I fear the most… is the reactions of those Yugi calls his friends. Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Ryou, the pharaoh himself… what will they think when they know that all that Yugi appears to be… is a lie?"

"Not everything," Sugoroku frowned slightly. "You, Shiai and Yugi all share one detail which makes you three exactly the same. Games."

Senet smile and sighed. "You're right," he nodded, before raising his eyes wildly. Quickly he stood up. "I thank you for the tea, Sugoroku, and allowing me to talk," the god said quickly, bowed and headed back towards Yugi's room. Before the old gamer could wonder what made the god flee like that, the door was knocked urgently.

-

Written ages and ages ago when I was annoyed about how Atemu/Yami was always the powerful one in fics and Yugi... well. Anyway, my brilliant way of reversing the situation. And I mean brilliant in that cynical, sarcastic way that doesn't show too well in textual communication.


	16. Nexus

**Nexus**

Yugi stared numbly up to the bookshelf to his left, staring at the single photograph standing there, amidst old tomes and newer books. It was yellowed photograph in somewhat dusty frame, but he hadn't had the heart to clean it up. For some reason it had always felt like the dust in the photo was meant to be there - now even more now. The dust marked the age of every thought and memory attached to the photograph - the photo of his six-year-old self and his old grandfather.

Sugoroku Mutou had been a man greater than the photograph could tell, but the thousand words concealed in that frame was nothing to sneer at. In the photograph the old man seemed exactly like the kind loving grandfather he had been for Yugi during that time, the mentor, protector and guardian… the one who had tucked him to bed, waked him up for breakfast and held his hand while crossing the street. But he had been more.

He had once been a general in a war most people didn't like to think about. He had once been a great Battle Magician with arsenal of countless spells, some of them his very own inventions. He had once been a tactician like no other with a mind full of thoughts and paths for those thoughts, with brain full of strategic intelligence many lacked. He had once been awarded for his brilliance by the king himself…

And for the last twenty or so years, he had been a teacher in the Domino school - school which took and gently guided the budding Magicians of their nation, school which made them into Shadow, Light and Battle Magicians. School in which Sugoroku himself had learned his basics, school in which Yugi had learned his basics… There Sugoroku had taught Strategy for those who could one day become great tacticians themselves.

Sugoroku was dead now. In age of 94, he had slept away in his bed in the teacher quarters of the school. Yugi hadn't seen his grandfather in more than sixteen years, so it was amazing how much the loss suddenly hurt him - how alone he felt. It was ridiculous. He had been pretty much alone ever since he had turned six, when he had became one of the few last blue-clad students of Domino, learning under a false name like all of his kind had had to at the time… time when Domino still taught four kinds of Magicians instead of three kinds.

"It's a surprise to see that Sugoroku's lone living relative, the mysterious grandson, is none other than my own little indigo genius," a man's voice interrupted his thoughts, causing him to look down from the bookshelf and to the other man in the room - his living room which hadn't seen guests since… ever. The other man, who had mauve suit and shoulder length grey hair - the colour being the only sign of his true age in otherwise young appearance - was looking at him over a glass of brandy.

"Not so little anymore," Yugi frowned slightly at the words before shaking his head. "You didn't actually think that Shiai Okugi was my actual name, did you?"

"Of course not. All you blue ones used false names," the grey haired man shook his head. "I guess you used a false name to separate yourself from your grandfather Yugi-boy?"

"I didn't want to be the stain on grandpa's record," Yugi shrugged, looking up to the photograph again and ignoring the man's way of addressing him. It was been twenty years since he had seen the man for the last time, but he hadn't forgotten the man's manners. "With the persecution going on during those times… it was better for my future as well to remain hidden…"

"Hmm," the grey haired man smiled slightly. "You studied and got your masteries under false name too. You know, if the Magicians of our kingdom would still be living from paper trails and records, you would have no testimony of your studies, no records…"

Yugi shook his head. "But they don't," he answered, unbuttoning the sleeve or his right hand and baring his wrist. Simple yet very meaningful markings had been tattooed around the wrist; the mark of his alignment, his Domino records and the three masteries he had were all enclosed underneath a thin layer of skin in light consuming midnight blue ink that couldn't be forged. His official skills were all there, forever etched to his skin.

Wrapping his fingers around the tattoos, he rubbed them somewhat self consciously. No one but him had seen the tattoos in over sixteen years. "Once there was a time I seriously considered chopping this hand off," he murmured with morbid amusement. "When they were raiding houses and checking wrists… when having this colour," he brushed his thumb over the mark of his alignment, the blue ink of the tattoos, "could've gotten me killed."

"They didn't just grab you Chaos Magicians for execution without reason, Yugi-boy," the other man frowned slightly. "They were tested and trialled -"

"Persecuted," Yugi corrected. "You know as well as I do that no Chaos Magician went through those trials and wasn't found guilty of something. During those times it didn't matter if we were guilty or not - there was always something we could be blamed of. I would've probably been killed just because of my Unity level. As a possible threat…"

The grey haired man was frowning deeper now. "They had their reasons. What Dartz did was unforgivable. It frightened many people -"

"I know, I understand," the shorter man held his hand up to stop the elder one. "They had every right to be frightened, every right to act. What Dartz and his group did was indeed unforgivable, in desperation they did something no man on this earth should and they paid the price. I just wonder why all the rest of us had to pay that price as well." He shook his head and looked away. "I survived because I'm good at hiding, but… no one else did. The last Chaos Magician. What a romantic idea."

"Not very romantic," the other man denied, looking down to his glass before taking a sip. "They stopped looking for you very quickly, Yugi-boy. Already back in school you had one of the highest Unity levels ever recorded, that alone is enough to frighten people, but after that you got not only one but three masteries. I don't even want to think about what your levels are now, twenty years after graduating from Domino… But even so they stopped looking. Do you know why?"

"Because no matter how high my Unity was, it makes no difference when the Siphon is zero," Yugi smiled slightly. "Possible threat but not actual threat. You probably remember my state after I graduated. I was already growing weaker by then. And look at me now; I'm thirty-three and I feel closer to sixty. I can't even stand up straight anymore and I need a cane if I wish to take a walk and come back alive. I'm not strong enough to threaten anybody."

"Oh, I doubt that," the elder man - who looked slightly younger than the actually younger one - grimaced. "You were a threat before you even started school. I'm not sure if I even want to think about how strong you are now."

"Not very strong. I know lot, that I admit… but I can't do lot, or anything," Yugi snorted. "My Unity squeezes my life-force every time when I just think about it. A single spell will knock me out without fail. I'm not strong. I haven't been for a long time."

The grey haired man looked at him thoughtfully, dark eyes trailing over the smaller man's tired features. Yugi looked away, as he knew perfectly what he looked like. Sickly pale skin, hollow cheeks, shadowed eyes… with his weakness plastered all over his face, he wasn't a pretty sight.

"You're dying, Yugi-boy," the other man finally said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"I've been dying for a long time, Headmaster Pegasus. I've managed to hold it back with small rituals and tonics which strengthen me some, but… it's coming," Yugi shook his head, looking down to the glass of brandy he hadn't touched yet. With a sigh he reached for it, cradling it in his palm for a moment before taking a large gulp. After the strong alcohol had flowed down to his stomach and started to warm his tired body, he sighed. "Soon the rituals and tonics won't be enough. I probably won't live to see my fortieth birthday."

"What a bleak future you have," the other man sighed, brushing his hand through his straight, clean hair. "When you graduated, I saw good things in your future. You had such promise in you, such… potential. I remember you well, Yugi-boy. You had the highest scores a Chaos oriented Magician has ever had in my school," Pegasus shook his head with look of wonder in his face. "Not only that, but you were the youngest student to be enrolled and graduate in two centuries. Full Chaos Magician before you even turned thirteen!"

Yugi shook his head, staring at the glass of brandy. _'Lot of good that did to me,'_ he thought somewhat bitterly. _'If I weren't a Chaos Magician, I could've lived a normal life.'_ Looking up to the other man he sighed and leaned back in his somewhat uncomfortable armchair. "Is there something you want, Headmaster?" he asked tiredly. "You've already delivered grandpa's effects to me. There has to be something of you would've left already."

The elder man looked at him thoughtfully before lowering the glass. "I was going to just drop his things and leave, but the moment I saw you I got a different idea, Yugi-boy. You knew your grandfather probably better than I ever did, and you know that there is probably no one else like him. The man was not only a genius of strategy but the best teacher I had…"

Yugi frowned slightly. "I do know. It's mostly thanks to him I ever gained a mastery of Strategy…"

"Indeed," Pegasus murmured. "It's a very difficult mastery to pass, the most difficult one in fact…" he coughed and looked up seriously. "I shall be blunt, Yugi-boy. There are currently two pairs of twins in my school - which is something that has never been seen before. I need to have the best staff as possible right now. Sugoroku's parting came in worst possible time for me and I was truly dreading the quest for a Strategy teacher like him… until I saw you."

"You think that I…? Oh no, you're insane," Yugi said flatly, realising what the man had in mind. "Do I need to point out that I'm a Chaos Magician, Pegasus? Just because of my alignment I shouldn't go anywhere near that school anymore. Not to mention that I'm barely fit to walk these days. I can't teach anyone anything."

The elder man frowned. "You, right after Sugoroku, are the most knowledgeable person I know, especially in terms of Strategy. Whilst others barely managed to pass their tests, you breezed through them as if they were nothing. You could've graduated the very same day you enrolled in my school! Strategy, among many things, came easy for you… and that is what I need. These twins… need to be taught by the best of the best. And you, right after Sugoroku, were always the best I've known."

Yugi shifted uncomfortably. "There's got to be something special about these twins, then," he said. "Other than the fact that they are twins."

"Just the fact that they're twins make them special. You know better than I do that there is no force greater in the world of Magicians than twins," Pegasus shook his head. "Their Siphon levels -"

"Are naturally very high because the power is constantly transferred between them, creating a perfect loop of energy, yes, I know. I have mastery in Siphon too, you know. Just because they're born together, they are magically strong," Yugi said. "Magical twins are rare and precious, but… not so special that you would need me specifically to teach them."

"These ones are," the elder man sighed. "Both are identical twins."

Yugi stilled. "Identical twins… you mean…?"

"Infinite Siphon," Pegasus nodded with a frown. "There is no end to their power. That is one reason I want you to teach them, but there is other. Both pairs are… unstable. The Ishtal twins had abusive and obsessive father who nearly drove them both mad and the Sennen twins… they were separated soon after their birth. Mother moved out of country with one of them even, into remote island country far to the east."

Yugi's eyes widened. "But to separate twins - identical twins…! That's a monstrous thing to do!" he shivered a bit at the mere thought of having an identical twin and then being separated from the one. "It's a wonder they didn't die!"

"A testament to their strength," Pegasus shook his head darkly. "It took me nearly twelve years to make things right for the boys and it wasn't easy. They have been together in the school for four years now… but whilst they are as close as two humans can possibly be, there is still a risk. Sometimes their powers flare - even at each other - because they don't match each other perfectly anymore. The Ishtals are no better with their unstable mentality…."

The man frowned for a moment before shaking his head. "I need stable and intelligent teachers for them. All other slots in my staff are filled with brilliant, strong Magicians… except for the Strategy," Pegasus continued, looking up to him. "I cannot have a weak link in the staff, not now."

"No," Yugi shook his head and took a sip of his drink. "It's not wise. Not for you and not for me. If people will find out that you hired a Chaos Magician…"

"Then what? It's been sixteen years since, Yugi-boy. Not everyone has that long memory - and all the students in my school are from generations which came after. They don't even know all that much about your kind - and even so… Chaos Magicians are extinct," the grey haired man looked at him seriously. "You don't exist."

Yugi frowned, not sure what he thought about that. Turning the glass in his hand, he shook his head slowly. "It's not worth it. Identical twins are not worth the risk of ruining your reputation. Yours or my grandfather's."

"Yes they are," Pegasus denied with a frown. "Besides… do you really want to live your last years here, doing… nothing? Your grandfather said that he started to teach to make his last years worthwhile…"

"He started to teach to keep an eye out on the Domino school - he did it because I asked him," Yugi shook his head, ignoring the surprised look in the Headmaster's face. "Because I wanted someone to look after those who are born as Chaos Magicians, because… because we both feared that those children would be killed just because of their alignment."

Pegasus shifted uncomfortably, realisation spreading to his face. "We usually try to turn born Chaos Magicians like you to Shadow or Battle magic… It was Sugoroku's idea, actually."

"I know," Yugi nodded.

"Nonetheless… do you really want to die like this? Unknown and alone… for someone of your level it's such unbecoming death," Pegasus looked at him. "The brightest minds of magic are in Domino… one of them specialist of Siphon. Maybe he could help you."

Yugi shook his head heavily. "Twenty-seven years. That is how long I have been trying to help myself, find myself the strength I'm missing… do you really think that this teacher of yours could do anything I haven't already tried?"

"Well… Domino is magical hotspot. Just being there should give you some strength - not to mention that doing rituals and making the tonics there should make them stronger," Pegasus implored.

"I've never taught in my life," Yugi murmured.

"You tutored Dartz himself when he was graduating - and you were only ten at the time! You're the only reason he graduated with the scores he did! Of course you've taught!"

Yugi's eyes darkened a bit at the other man's words and his bangs fell to shadow his face. Then he looked up with haunted eyes. "Low blow," he said flatly.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," the Headmaster frowned, leaning back. "Yugi-boy… please at least think about it. The twins… and the other students deserve a good teacher. I know you are the best I can find."

Looking at the other man darkly, the Chaos Magician sighed. Slowly he rubbed the brandy glass's brim against his chapped lower lip before taking a sip. Then he sighed heavily. "It's a mistake," he muttered and pointedly ignored Pegasus's victorious grin.

-

Behold, HP ripoff. The story of this one is pretty simple. Yugi goes to Domino, joins the ranks of teachers, who include Ryou, Anzu, Seth, Seto, Jonouchi, Honda, etc, and teaches Stragety to Atemu, Yami, Malik, Marik, Isis, Rishid, Shadi, Bakura, Mahado, Mana, etc.... all the while trying to hide the fact that he's a Chaos Magician, and not die untimely death due to magical weakness and potion abuse. There was slash, incest and threesomes included, but since none of that shows in this piece, I thought it'd be safe to upload this.

If it doesn't make much sense, the whole Yugi being weak and dying thing, let me explain. The magic of this particular universe works in a sort of balance of knowledge and power. The more knowledge a magician has of magic, which is called Unity, the more magic they can use. But they can use their Unity only if they had the power. Some, who have low lever Unity, are fine with their natural born energy. Some, like Yugi who has high Unity, need external energy source, or Siphon. And Siphon can be anything from alcohol (Pegasus's Siphon) to sunlight (Ryou's Siphon) to electricity (Seto's Siphon) to a person (which is the case in magical twins, they are each other's Siphons, hence their high value). Yugi, since he never found his Siphon, is basically being drained of his own lifeforce by his own Unity. If that makes any sense.

My apologies for possible grammar errors etc.


	17. Some AU ideas

**Some AU drabbles**

**Shapeless**

The man stared at his knees quietly while the limousine drove on. Though he had no knowledge of the destination, he didn't bother looking outside the window to see the direction they were going, or the neighbourhood and the town they were in. He was certain that the buildings and street signs would've given him some indication of the location - if nothing else, they would've told him what _country_ he was in at least - but he didn't bother. It wouldn't have made much of a difference at this point.

On the seat across him, a man with brown hair was going through some files, paper rustling softly in the soundproof space. "Your name is Yugi Mutou and currently you are twenty four years of age. You were born fourth of June, and your birth town is Domino," the man said, holding up a paper. "Your mother's name was Naota, your father's name was Shiai. They both died when you were young in a plane accident and you spend your childhood living with your grandfather Sugoroku, who died approximately three years ago. He kept a small shop that sold toys and games, and after his death you sold the shop pay back some debts and the loan you had to take in order to finish your studies in Domino University. You studied languages and literature, and graduated with bachelor's degree in linguistics."

The man, Yugi, nodded his head in agreement and pressed the facts into his memory. They would be easy to follow, and bachelor's degree in linguistics would explain his bilingualism.

"Your cover assignment here will be to tutor Atemu and Yami Sennen in English and etiquette. You were scouted for the job personally by their father, Akunum Sennen, who was friends with your grandfather before he passed away. It is both due to that sentimentality and because of your skills that he chose you for the job of teaching his sons," the other man continued. "All the study material have been arranged for you to maintain the cover. If you require anything further than what has been already made ready, you will inform the manager of staff about it and he will see to it. Thorough the assignment you will be living in the Sennen mansion - a room has been provided for you along with all base necessities. Again, if you require anything, inform the manager of staff about it."

Yugi nodded again, closing his eyes briefly to memorise the facts. When he opened his eyes, the man before him was handing something to him. It was a photograph of a boy approximately fourteen years of age. The boy wore a blue school uniform and had the strangest hair he had ever seen. He looked up to the brown haired man to see what he was meant to do with the picture.

"This is what you looked like when you were seventeen," the man answered.

Nodding in understanding, Yugi looked at the picture again, this time a little more studiously. Pale skin and clearly Asian features - judging by the name he was Japanese, but the eyes of the boy in the picture were slightly too wide for that, and they had a peculiar shade. Almost purple. The boy had roots outside Japan, it seemed. something about the shape of the eyes hinted to northern African, maybe Egyptian. The hair was a tricky one as well, golden from the front and dark magenta from the back, the lighting of the picture making it look almost two coloured. The boy's clothes were tricky as well - the school uniform was one thing, but the boy wore a leather shirt underneath it with a high, belt like collar.

Yugi closed his eyes and _shifted_. The transformation melted over him, heavy and light at the same time like some sort of thick liquid that ran right through him. He was faintly aware that for a moment he looked exactly like the boy in the picture, who looked fourteen even when he was seventeen. Then he begun aging himself until he was the required twenty four years of age, the layers of years adding some height and mass while taking away some of the boy's softness.

When he opened his eyes, he was a purple eyed with slim, short frame and wild hair, slightly more tamed than the hair of the boy in the picture, but still with the same wild colouring. Unlike the boy, however, he wore no school uniform and instead wore a formal jacket. Underneath it he had a leather vest, pants of similar material and boots with slightly heightened heels.

The brown haired man looked over him, taking note of his earrings, his wristbands, rings and the boots, and then raised his eyebrows. "Explain," he demanded.

Yugi looked down to the picture and then turned it around to show it to the man. "At age of seventeen I was already comfortable enough with myself to set myself aside from the crowd, and embracing my own unique style," he answered. "That style remained as I grew older. Leather is the only form of clothing I find comfortable, but I am not beyond wearing something more formal over it. My hair style was a experimentation, but I took a liking to it so I never bothered to change it - merely shortened it slightly when the bangs started becoming an annoyance. The jewellery were gifts from friends and as they fit my style I don't mind wearing them."

The brown haired man leaned back, looking curious. "Friends?" he asked, glancing at the picture and then seeing where Yugi had drawn the conclusion. The boy in the picture was surrounded by people and by the looks of it talking to them rapidly with a wide smile on his face. "Right. Explain your personality."

"I am friendly but quirky, I am kind but I can be head strong," Yugi answered. "I will never turn someone down if they need help, but I know better than to stick my nose into the businesses of others. I like teaching, I have a fondness towards languages and I am always looking to learn something new," he added, as it seemed something useful for this assignment. "I am bit of a pushover and will follow orders easily, but only to certain extent."

"Acceptable," the brown haired man nodded and then turned to the papers again. "For the duration of the assignment, you are not allowed to smoke, drink, use drugs or abuse any sort of intoxicating, addicting or otherwise performance-endangering or enhancing stimulants or substances," he started reading from a list. "You are not allowed to engage in any sort of sexual relationships, nor are you allowed to possess any sort of erotic material such as photography, literature, movies, games or anything of the like. You are not allowed to start any sort of violence against the staff members or the members of the Sennen family or their associates, unless not to do so would endanger your assignment. You are not allowed to…"

Yugi listened, nodding after every rule and pressing them all to his memory. They were reasonable and easy enough to follow.

"That is about it," the brown haired man said finally, checking the list once more before looking up. "Do you have any questions?" he asked.

"Not currently," Yugi answered. He would probably have questions later on when he would know more, but right now he seemed to be aware all he needed to be.

"Good," the man nodded, closing the folder in his hands. He took out a cell phone instead and handed it over. "Keep this with you at all times. It will have all contacts you need, as well as my own. I am Seto Kaiba and for the duration of your mission I will be your master. If anything concerning the assignment comes up, anything you cannot handle on your own without breaking your cover, you will contact me, is that understood?"

"Yes, master Seto," Yugi nodded his head while taking the cell phone and examining it. A relatively new model that flipped open and had a camera. Shouldn't be hard to learn how to use.

"Good," the man nodded and then looked up and through the window as the car started slowing down and eventually stopped completely. "It seems we're here."

**Embodiment**

The cell was cool and bare, without even a blanket or hay to soften the cold floor, no plank of wood to serve as a sleeping spot, nothing. There were no windows either to tell the time, only a wall of bars and door that led in to a corridor which left and right was surrounded by similar cells. But then, there was no use in making the cell habitable or comfortable. It wasn't mean to be a place of comfort, after all.

Sugoroku, one of two inhabitants of this particular cell, looked up, his old body tired and weary. He could hear how, in the other cells, his people were softly whining and whispering to each other, offering explanations, assurances and false comfort. He could hear how a pair of lovers spoke to each other through the bar, trying to say their final goodbyes but unable to word the farewell through their tears and painful proclamations of love. They knew - _all of them_ - that they wouldn't remain together for long. None of them.

The old man sighed, rubbing his hand across his bruised side before turning his eyes to his cell mate. They hadn't bothered to chain him as he was too old and too weak to do anything, but his cell mate was bound and gagged with cold metal, his eyes covered in metallic blindfold. Sugoroku would've freed him, but he only needed to glance at the other to know there was nothing he could do. Where the other's skin as in contact with the metallic binds, it was turning faintly purple. Magical, power draining chains. He wouldn't be able to even touch them.

"Yugi," the old man murmured, sifting closer to the younger man, who hadn't moved at all in hours. "Yugi, are you awake?"

"Hnng," the other answered with a slight twitch and then curled tighter to himself, pulling his chained thighs against his chest and burying his face in his knees. "Nngh," he grunted with distinctive tone of pain.

"I know," Sugoroku whispered, reaching his hand and patting the other bare shoulder, carefully avoiding touching the chains that bound the other's upper arms against his side, or the metal collar around Yugi's neck. Their captors had gone long way to ensure that Yugi would be helpless. For a good reason too - Yugi had taken out half of their attackers all by himself before they had managed to overwhelm him. And after Yugi had gone down…

"Hnk," Yugi sniffled softly, but relaxed under the touch just for a moment. Then he tensed again, curling tighter to himself.

"It wasn't your fault," Sugoroku assured, squeezing the shoulder. It hadn't been, really. Yugi had fought hard and strong until the bitter end, but they had been outnumbered. After the slave traders had managed to overwhelm Yugi, the rest of them had been rendered helpless soon enough. Sugoroku tried not to think of how many of their tribe had died in the battle, or how badly the others must've been injured. "There was nothing you could've done," the old man whispered. "There were too many of them."

Yugi sighed, his teeth grinding a little against the metal gag, but made no other noises.

Sugoroku bowed his head, keeping his hand on the other's shoulder for a moment, before withdrawing. He hadn't expected Yugi to agree with him - the younger man was like that. Yugi would probably blame himself for this for the rest of his life, given the chance. Hell, all of them would blame themselves - Sugoroku certainly did. If only he had been younger and stronger and his powers had still worked properly, maybe there would've been something he could've done - maybe he could've just contributed to the battle… something, anything.

But it was too late now. Miracles never happened to their kind, and the future was certain and strong in all its horrors. Life of slavery. Some of them would end up in the battle stadiums. Others would become tools of humans, their servants, their entertainment. Some would die soon in that life, under the hand of forceful masters or in battles while others, the lucky ones, would live long lives, serving the rare kinder humans. But it would be slavery in any case. None of them would ever be like they had been, none of them would be free, none of them would have any choice.

Especially not Yugi, the strongest of them all. He would be sold for high price, probably to a battle stadium where he would entertain humans with his blood until he died…

"Yugi, we both know what will follow," Sugoroku said. "For all of us. Anzu, Shizuka, Mai…" he trailed away, thinking the younger women of their tribe. They both knew where they would end up. "They're strong, they might… survive. Jonouchi and Honda, who knows…" they were able bodied, would probably end up either as fighters or as workers. Maybe as soldiers or bodyguards if they got lucky. "I don't even want to think about what will happen to Mokuba and the other children, and Kaiba…" he shivered a little. Kaiba wouldn't have easy times ahead of him. He was the most wilful and head strong of their whole tribe. Before humans could get him do anything, they would have to break him.

"I, well… me and the other old ones will be sold cheap, hopefully… hopefully that will mean we will have it easy," Sugoroku murmured. "But you…"

"Nhg," Yugi answered, understanding.

"Yeah, it won't be easy. So, never… never forget where you come from," Sugoroku whispered. "They can take away your freedom, your name, your dignity, even your identity, but they will never take away your origins. Never forget your home, your place of birth. As long as you have that, you are still yourself. You understand?"

Yugi snorted softly, turning his face a little. Sugoroku sighed, understanding. What did it matter at this point, indeed? None of them had a good future ahead of them. It might even be easier on them if they just… forgot who they had been. Who and what.

"You of all of us will have to hold onto who and what you are," Sugoroku murmured. "The things they could make you do… you are the strongest of us, Yugi. Imagine the devastation…" he trailed away, glancing at the other. "You must resist. Of the sake of our kind. And for yourself."

Yugi hummed faintly, neither agreeing or disagreeing, and fell silent. Sugoroku sighed and looked up as he saw light beyond the bars - a lantern light carried by couple of humans. It seemed it was the time.

**King's man**

Kaiba Seto did not believe in ghosts. Therefore the apparition sitting in his office's couch had to be a trick. A hologram maybe, possibly set there by his imp of a brother in some sort of poor attempt to make him react somehow. What Mokuba was after, surprise or amusement, Seto didn't know but he did know that he did not appreciate this trick and instead of answering to it, he begun to look for the hidden hologram projector to get rid of it.

"What are you looking for?" the hologram asked confusedly, sitting still and watching as Seto looked through the room. The words stopped the man who turned to stare at the hologram. It was watching him with big eyes, curious. He could see the edge of the couch behind the eyes - behind the hologram's entire form. It was a poor hologram indeed, a transparent one. Maybe Mokuba hadn't adjusted it properly.

"Interactive, huh?" Seto murmured, folding his eyes. "I guess there are a camera and a microphone here too?" Without waiting for answer he went back to looking. He didn't like the idea of hidden cameras and microphones in his office at all. Even if they had been set by Mokuba, he still not like being watched in his private space.

"What are you talking about?" the hologram asked with slight amusement, tilting its transparent head to the side and following Seto with its transparent eyes.

Seto shook his head with frustration and rummaged through the cushions of the other couch. "Mokuba, I don't like this trick at all," he growled. "Now where is the hologram projector?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the hologram said pleasantly, folding its hands and watching Seto with a slightest tilt in the corner of its lips. Seto threw a glare at it, before realising that the hologram's so called voice was coming form near the hologram. The speaker had to be near the hologram them.

"At least he paid mind to details," Seto muttered while striding up to the hologram. The thing watched him with raised eyebrows as Seto started to shift the cushions around it in search for the speaker. When he didn't find it, he then started shifting the cushions under the hologram.

"Could you not do that?" the hologram asked with a hint of a frown as Seto's hands slid through it. "It feels strange."

"Don't be ridiculous, you don't feel anything," the president of the Kaiba Corporation rolled his eyes, then frowning as his search resulted no speaker.

"Yes I do," the hologram shifted slightly, giving him a puzzled look. "Why wouldn't I feel it when you stick your hands through me?"

"Holograms don't feel," Seto shook his head and stopped his search for a moment to calculate where the projection could've been coming. Not behind the couch because the back rest would be in the way and the hologram wouldn't be showing fully. Not from the sides either, the hand rests got in the way. Not unless the hologram was projected from the ceiling… He glanced up and in a way he wasn't surprised at all to not see anything there. Mokuba was better than to use the obvious, easiest method.

"Okay, I admit you've hidden the devices well," Seto muttered, sending a glare at the hologram. "So what is the point in this trick? What are after with this? What do you want?"

The hologram blinked slowly at him before shaking its head. "I still don't know what you're talking about," it said, leaning back and watching him thoughtfully. "You are one very suspicious man, you know that?" it then said.

Seto gave the hologram a flat look, folding his eyes. "Okay, since you won't give straight answers… why this hologram of all things, Mokuba?" Holograms could be altered so that they looked like someone whilst it was someone else who was acting them out. The hologram was no doubt controlled by Mokuba who could do such alteration easily. All he needed was a picture to make a hologram of someone who wasn't actually there.

"I'm not Mokuba," the hologram said calmly, though with mirth shining in its eyes. "I'm me, the one and only."

Seto's eyes narrowed. The hologram was actually the real thing? "Mokuba actually got you personally to play part in this trick of his, Yugi? What's in it for you?" He hadn't seen Yugi Mutou in… many years. Not since his rival had stopped duelling in official tournaments. Part of the reason why Mokuba's trick annoyed him was because the hologram was of Mutou Yugi, but if it was the actual thing…

The hologram gave him an amused look. "What makes you think it's a trick?" he asked.

"Don't be stupid, of course it's a trick," Seto shook his head, looking away. Then, when the hologram merely stared at him with a smile, he returned into the search for the projector. "There is always a trick behind everything, especially with things like this. Some sort of device or mechanism. I've been working with technology far too long not to know that."

"So you don't believe in miracles? You don't believe in the unexplained, in magic and mystic?" the hologram asked with a solemn smile. "What a sad life you must lead."

The president of the Kaiba Corporation threw a vicious glare at him. "Shut up Yugi. Now tell me what do you want and what do I have to do to make you go away?"

The hologram smiled softly. "I just wanted to say 'hi'," it answered. Then, without sound or even a flicker, it simply faded out of the sight.

For a long while Seto stared at the spot where it had been, before making annoyed sound deep in his throat and starting to fruitlessly look for the projector and the speakers again.

**Notions**

Atemu watched with a gentle smile as the student of his old mentor played with one of the many cats that lived in his palace. It was a young cat, its hind legs slightly too big in comparison to the rest of its body and its head slightly too small. It was clumsy, while rushing after the reed Yugi tempted it with, tumbling over the limestone floor. Yugi was chuckling softly as the cat stumbled, and it was hard to tell which one of them was enjoying the play more.

Most would have considered playing with a cat unbecoming, Atemu knew. Yugi was almost a man - or he could very well already be a man, as it seemed that he was very small or his age - or very mature, if he was in fact younger than he appeared. Either way, someone of his age - and especially someone of his stature - wouldn't be spending time with animal like that, even if cats were the children of Bastet.

Yet Atemu knew that no matter who would have seen, they wouldn't have reprimanded Yugi by reminding him of his position as the Chief Magician's student. It was impossible to reprimand Yugi of anything, it seemed, especially not something which was so amusing and, dare he say, adorable to look at. No, it was more likely that the watcher would have joined in.

Atemu wished to join in as well. He remembered fondly of one of the palace cats which had been around when he had been younger. It had used to every now and then sneak into his room and sleep in his bed, and Atemu had spend some good hours playing with the cat, even though he should have been studying.

But he was the pharaoh now. And the idea of someone seeing him playing with like that was slightly embarrassing. It made him jealous of Yugi in many ways, but the jealousy was without malice. He couldn't blame Yugi for being what he was when the magician's student was quickly becoming a close friend.

"Lord pharaoh!" Yugi finally noticed him, looking over his shoulder with a smile. "What are you doing, skulking there in the shadows?" he asked in that delightful way he did when ever they were alone, seemingly forgetting all ideas about stature and manners. With a smile he motioned the other to come closer.

"Everyone must have a habit, Yugi," the pharaoh smiled, but took the silent invitation. But, as much as he would have liked to sit to the floor like Yugi had, he remained standing, leaning onto the window frame under which Yugi was playing. "I see you found a friend."

"Yes, isn't he adorable?" the paler one asked with a smile and lifted the cat to his arms, holding it up. It had beautiful shadow-green eyes. "He's part of a litter one of the cats living near the kitchens had about two months back, or so I hear," Yugi said happily before pulling the cat to himself and nuzzling his face against the top of its head, much to the cat's delight. "Master Shiamun has promised that I can offer it shelter in my own rooms."

"Shiamun is just as much of an animal lover as you are," the pharaoh chuckled. "Though I hope you know that cat's cannot be truly owned. If anything, they own you."

"I know. I wouldn't mind being owned by something so soft and warm," Yugi chuckled, his eyes momentarily sad before he smiled with amusement. The cat was now wildly trying to reach for the reed Yugi was holding in his hand. With a chuckle he released the cat and started to again temp him with the fluffy end of the reed. "Now at least I won't be bored when ever I have nothing to study," he said.

"I don't know, cats sleep awful lot," Atemu chuckled, before tilting his head slightly and looking at the other's face thoughtfully. "Though, if you are bored, you can always… find me," he offered before hastily continuing before his offer could be interpreted as something deeper than it should be. "There are still sections of the palace that are unknown to you, aren't there? I would be more than happy to help you get to know them."

The magician's student before him looked up to him with a surprise before smiling. "That is a kind offer, my lord, but… I suspect you are much busier than I am," Yugi said softly, lowering his eyes to the cat that had tumbled over but was swiftly getting up and rushing after the reed again. "As the ruler of this fine kingdom, you have much more duties than I do. And I do not wish to be a bother to you or anyone else."

"You could never be a bother," Atemu assured softly and smiled. "And I think you should call me Atemu." Having Yugi address him so… submissively somehow seemed wrong. "Alright?"

"I couldn't," Yugi shook his head with slightest dusting of red on his cheeks. "That is a privilege you should only give to those closest to you. Or in the least to someone of higher stature than mine."

Atemu blinked slightly. "Your stature is in no way low in my eyes, or in the eyes of anyone else here," he assured rather confused about why the other would think that his stature was low. "You don't seem to understand what it means to be the student of Shiamun."

"I do, and I would never belittle that," Yugi quickly assured. "I know it's a great honour -"

"It's not just an honour," the pharaoh said softly. He glanced around and, after making sure that there was no one near enough to see, he slid down the window frame to sit on the floor with Yugi. "Shiamun is the greatest magician of this kingdom, second only in power to myself but never in talent or knowledge. The one who comes closest to him in talent is Mahado, but his skills are limited by his cast," the pharaoh said. "And he has only had one other student before you for the simple reason that there hasn't been anyone strong or smart enough to learn from him. That is what you are."

The pale youth before him flushed with slight embarrassment. "I know. I never meant to disparage that," he murmured and then glanced at the pharaoh. "Who… who was the other student?"

Atemu smiled. "It was me."

As Yugi looked up with surprise, the cat tumbled between them before launching at it's now still prey. While Yugi turned to try and pry the reed from the cat before it would shred it, Atemu chuckled softly. If Yugi hadn't completely understood the weight of his position, he probably hadn't considered the potential of it either.

"Besides, many are thinking that Shiamun might have not only chosen you for his student, but for his successor as well," the pharaoh spoke and stood up again, running his hands over his robe to make sure that it hadn't gotten dusty. As shocked Yugi looked up, he smiled. "You might very well be a candidate for the position of Chief Magician when Shiamun retires," he said. "So do not belittle _yourself_."

The look of shock in the other's face was too adorable for him bear so with a slight nod of recognition, he left Yugi playing with his new cat.

**Unwanted power**

Seto Kaiba breathed a small sigh as he looked around in the dark factory. He had planned for this moment for years now, but it was still a shock for him. His plan had worked, the plan he had been slowly but steadily brewing ever since _that man_ had dared to snap a collar around his neck and treat him like a dog, like a slave. After years he had finally done it. Kaiba Corporation was his, and along with it so were the factories. All three of them.

The tall teenager chuckled coldly to himself, the sound echoing in the enormous hall. Everything had gone according to plan. He had been given small amount of money to _do something worthwhile with_. A test of his money management skills. He had bought stocks, then sold them and bought more, traded more and more until he had more money. Then, using an alias, he had begun to sneak his fingers into Kaiba Corporation itself. It had taken long long while to gain enough of the shares but eventually he had had enough power and had been approached by the other major shareholders. The shareholders had banded behind him and the president of the Kaiba Corporation had been overthrown.

Seto's chuckle quieted down to a mirthless smirk. Gozaburo Kaiba, his adopted father, had taught him everything he needed to know to do it right. And one of those teachings had been that defeat meant death - that what been what the bastard had told him while forcing him to study during the first years. The bastard hadn't suspected that his so called _coaching _would turn against him, that his so called successor would turn into enemy. But even in defeat the bastard had had pride. Defeat meant death. Seto went from successor into president and from heir to family's head within the same day. For a seventeen year old, that was certainly a respectable feat.

The shareholders had of course been happy for it. They had thought that if Gozaburo would be defeated by a teenager then he didn't deserve to be the president. Unluckily for them, they hadn't considered that if Seto could betray Gozaburo, he could betray them as well. With his own and Gozaburo's shares, he had became the main shareholder. It hadn't been difficult at all to kick the other shareholders out of the company. And now it was all his.

He was free now, his brother was free… he was fitly rich and owned one of the Japan's largest companies. With the inheritance he could've closed the factories completely and brought the company down had he wanted to. He still would've had enough money to live easily and support his brother for decades to come. But that would be waste. The Kaiba Corporation was a multimillion business. Only thing wrong with it was what it dealt with - weapons. And Seto had no interest in arms.

After a moment of thought, the teenager begun walking across the enormous room filled with long lines machines. He grimaced slightly as he saw that the machines manufactured bullets. _'I suppose someone has to make them, but…'_ he looked away. He didn't like the idea of owning a company that helped people kill each other. _'This world has enough useless violence as it is. One would think that we humans would be more sophisticated than that, but this place is a fantastic proof of the fact that we are still, in some way, primitive animals…'_

The factory was silent. It had been closed down the moment Seto had gained the power. The workers had been dismissed and it was likely that most of them would be fired. He had no intention of continuing in the arms business so he had no use for people who specialised in them. Some of the workers he might keep, depending on what direction he would take with the company… but it was all left to be seen.

_'What to do with all this…?'_ he mused, looking around. The amount of power he had was delightfully overwhelming. For too long had choice been taken away from him, but now he could the power to decide over all of this. With Kaiba Corporation in his grasp, he had the power to do almost anything. He could do anything from entertainment technology to space technology. He had enough resources to inhabit the moon if he so wanted!

The next chuckle that echoed in the empty factory was almost cheerful one.

x

Mokuba wanted to go to school - actual real public school, the kind of school Gozaburo hadn't allowed them to even approach. According to the bastard, public schools were good for grunts and drones, but they were well beyond the level of people like Seto and Mokuba. Seto could, almost, understand why that was the case with him, but Mokuba hadn't been trained as hard as he was. Gozaburo had just wanted to keep Mokuba alone and miserable.

While making the necessary arrangements to get his little brother to a grade school, Seto found himself wondering what sort of life did students actually lead. He had never been in actual school. The last six or so years he had been under the tutelage of private instructors and teachers - and Gozaburo himself - and before that he and Mokuba had been in orphanage for almost five years, taught by the caretakers there.

More out of curiosity than actual need to learn, Seto enrolled himself into a high school. He had been trained in six different languages, social skills, game tactics, management… everything he needed to know to run the company he had mastered long ago. So there wasn't actually anything he _needed_ to learn, but now that he had a choice he found that he _wanted_ to. Wanted to find out what schools were like.

It was unnecessary and maybe a little bit foolish - he was still busy with the company after all, school would just eat up his time. He still hadn't decided what he would be doing with the place, but he had already started to move. He had opened auction for the machinery in the factories, and he was going to sell them to the highest bidder. Just because he didn't want to manufacture arms didn't mean he was going to just throw the machines away - they were worth lot of money after all. And what ever he would be doing next would probably require new machines so money was needed. And there really was never enough of it for wasting. Life at orphanage had taught him that.

Well, he had his palmtop and phone, he could easily keep an eye out on the sales even while at school. Modern technology was a lovely thing when it came to watching things from afar.

The school he enrolled to was called Domino Public High School. Seto could've, had he wanted to, enrol himself into some private high school. When they had heard that he, Gozaburo Kaiba's eldest son, the president of the Kaiba Corporation, was going to a high school, they had all sent their brochures and leaflets, hoping that he would attend to their school and bring some fame and fortune… but he had no intention of doing so. He wanted to witness normal high school life and he suspected that he wouldn't find that in some private school for the _gifted_ - gifted meaning rich.

Domino Public High School was probably the lowest school in the ranks, if schools did have ranks. It was open for everyone, it had a problem with bullying, the teachers were far from the best and Seto suspected that the whole school was screaming for funding. It was time of technology but the school didn't even have computer classroom.

When the school's vice principal heard that Seto was going to enrol, the man almost jumped through the roof. He immediately got the strangest notion that Seto would be one of those goody-goody rich people who threw their money to charity. "I guess you've seen our school in the news," the vice principal said to him in completely unnecessary meeting. "Unfortunate, unfortunate… with lack of proper funding there isn't much we can do around here…"

Apparently someone had just recently made a scoop about the bullying in Domino High that had been showed in popular morning program. Seto, who had never watched any other TV programs than the business news, hadn't seen it. Nor did he believe that had he seen it he would've been interested in the state of affairs at the school. He wasn't too shy about saying it. "I'm just going to go to school here," he said rather cuttingly. "I have no intention of funding _anything_." Of course the vice principal wouldn't leave it at that. Seto had a feeling that the man would be trying to persuade him for months to come, but he didn't care.

Once he was enrolled and had a place among the first years' in class C, he was satisfied. His classmates weren't so satisfied. Some of the girls were interested about him - probably because of the money he had - but the boys seemed to develop a strong dislike for him at the first sight. He became the "rich geek" of the class within the first day. Seto didn't mind all that much - even Mokuba could insult him better and the kid loved him - but he was interested about something. "Now we have a poor geek _and_ a rich geek in our class!" the toughest guys of his class jeered and Seto couldn't help his curiosity. Who was the "poor geek"?

When he asked, they pointed to the end of the class. There sat probably the shorted seventeen-year-old Seto had ever seen. He had also the strangest hair, blonde from the froth and dark from the back. The so called "poor geek" had a screwdriver behind his ear, couple tiny screws in his mouth and he was determinately doing something with what looked like notebook computer that had been ran over. He had the computer's case opened and he was twiddling around with the insides with pair of strange tweezers in both hands.

"That's Yugi Mutou," one of the girls said rather amusedly. "He's always playing around with some busted up technology. I hear his grandfather keeps a repair shop so that's where he gets them probably."

Yugi Mutou kept working with the ruined notebook the entire recess and only reluctantly put it away for the class. And the moment the class was over, he pulled it out again and continued to play around with it. Seto couldn't help but watch him a little as he worked. Did the boy actually think he could fix the notebook? The thing looked like a car had run over it.

But by the end of the day, Mutou seemed finished. The thing had no screen - whatever accident that had taken place had probably ruined it beyond repair - but it didn't seem to bother Mutou much. He flipped the computer around, and took a worn palmtop from his book pack. After attaching the palmtop to the ruined notebook, he turned the notebook on using the palmtop as the notebook's screen. And apparently it worked, if the satisfied look on the "poor geek's" face was anything to go by.

Poor or not, Mutou was good with technology. Every day he would have some busted up piece of machinery with him, occupying his time during the recess. Sometimes it was a cell phone, sometimes it was a laptop or some handheld machine. Usually he managed to get the things working - somewhat anyway - before the day ended.

Another thing Seto noticed about the "poor geek" was that he had very unusual accessory. He had a large upside-down pyramid-thing hanging from his neck as if it was a pendant of some kind. The thing was a bit took big to work perfectly as a pendant, but Mutou had it every single day. At first Seto thought that the thing was made of pieces like some sort of weird puzzle, but when he has a closer look he realised that it wasn't seams of pieces he had seen. No, it they were more like lines in circuit board - except the pyramid-thing was no board and it was golden instead of your usual green.

_'Maybe I should start making electronics,'_ Seto mused one day while watching Mutou work with yet again another piece of technology - this one being a handheld computer. _'They're getting more and more popular these days… maybe I should check Mutou's shop out. Maybe I could get some inspiration there.'_

That day he decided to, as nonchalantly as possible, follow Mutou home. Instead he ended up following him into trouble. Just as Mutou was leaving the school premises, one of the students from the upper classes approached the tiny first year for a chat. Seto could see from afar that the elder student had nothing good in mind.

"You're Yugi Mutou right? I've heard about you. You've always playing around with all sorts of tech things," the taller teenager smiled at the smaller one. There was something dangerous in the smile. "My name is Ushio and I think you could help me with something. I need a laptop, you see, and you're going to get one for me. A new, nice one."

"I can't get something like that," Mutou argued with a worried look about his face. He glanced around as if looking for a way out - making Seto believe that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. "I only get the broken ones my grandpa can't get working. There are no new computers in my grandfather's store."

"Then I guess you will have to sell the poor ones and buy me a new one, hm?" Ushio grabbed a hold of Mutou's collar and raised him over the ground. "Because if you don't… well, I don't think you'd like what would happen then," the taller teen leered. "You will get me a computer and you'll get it soon or you'll wish you had never born!"

With that, Ushio threw Mutou to the ground and walked away. Seto was about to go and see if the little guy was alright when Mutou quickly sat up and checked not himself for damage, but the thing he carried around his neck. He turned the upside-down pyramid in his hand with frantic look about his face before pulling something out of his pocket. Wireless headset.

Quickly putting it to his ear, Mutou turned it on. "Yami! Are you alright?" the short teen asked with worried tone of voice. "No don't care about me, I'm fine. You're alright, right? Nothing's loose, right…?" he turned the pyramid in his hands again before sighing with relief. "Thank god. I was worried for a minute there. Maybe I should make a casing for you, you're too vulnerable like this… Yes, I know you're not made of glass, but you're certainly not made of steel either…"

It took a moment for it to sink in but soon Seto realised that Mutou was talking to the pyramid - trough a headset.

With a sigh Mutou sat up, brushing his clothing almost absently. "Get him a computer? I don't know. I don't have the money for something like that. And I don't exactly own anything money worthy…" he muttered while gathering his book pack from the ground. "Just getting those things working doesn't mean I can sell them. Who would want to buy a busted computer anyway? Besides I have other plans for those parts…. Yes, I'm going to build it, I promised I would, didn't I? It might take few years, but I'll build it…"

As Mutou walked away, Seto stared after him with confusion. _'What the hell…?'_

x

Alrighty, I found some unfinished stories on my drive and decided to throw the more interesting ones out into the world. Now, let me explain the ideas behind them

**Shapeless **was pretty simple deal. I wanted to write a story about shape shifters. I think they were supposed to be from some secret organisation who hired the shape shifters to do, well, whatever, anything from infiltration to assassination to bodyguard work, and so forth. Yugi, obviously, is one of them. I also had this idea of Ryou/Bakura being a rogue shape shifter who ran away from the organisation, who occasionally comes to see/challenge Yugi, whom he sees as rival/adversary, or something like that. Sadly, this is as much as I managed to write to the story.

**Embodiment **was a weird idea that has too many origins to count. The basic idea was that of this fantasy world, maybe Egypt-like, where there lives at least two races, Humans and the tribes. The tribes consisted, I think, of creatures with magical abilities and such, and because of their strength humans fear and hate them - and if they manage to capture the tribes, they enslave them to use their abilities to their own ends. Yugi's tribe was obviously conquered and Yugi's being restrained because he is so strong that he can do magic with very little effort.

**King's Man **is a pretty simple thing when it comes to the plot. Yugi is in coma on some hospital with some memory problems and while in coma he sends his "projection" to Kaiba. And Kaiba obviously thinks he's being played with.

**Notions **was a ancient-Egypt AU, of course. Not much to say about.

**Unwanted Power** was a scifi-AU where, instead of magic, everything is pretty much technological and instead of being what it is in the manga/anime, the Puzzle is the hard-drive/memory-board/thingy of an artificial intelligent, which Yugi found and put together. I think the idea behind this one was that eventually Yugi and Seto were going to turn Kaiba Corp into mecha-manifacturing and Yami was going to be their prototype. Or something like that._  
_


	18. Wellspring

Warnings: magic-AU, with speculations of past slash, and OOCness. Will end up slash again, if continued.

Summary: Limitless power is all good and fine - unless you have no way to control it.

**Wellspring**

Rubbing her neck with a groan, Anzu ventured out of her bedroom to find that Yugi had, once more, fallen of the couch during the night and now laid curled half underneath the coffee table, wrapped in the duvet and with an arm beneath his head, working as a pillow. Pausing for a moment to eye her friend, she lowered her hand and sighed. How someone could look so uncomfortable and comfy at the same time, she wasn't sure, but Yugi could always pull it off.

Yawning, she walked closer to him and crouched by his back, reaching a hand to touch his cheek – the only placer where his skin was visible, every other bit of him was covered in leather, from his toes to his finger tips. Yugi made a snuffling sound in his sleep as she reached, testing the temperature of his skin, and the quality of energy beneath.

About stable. Good. So he just fell off and didn't feel like crawling back to the couch, rather than that he had an overload, fell off the couch and passed out before he could get back.

"You're going to get half a million muscle cramps like this, you know," Anzu noted, rubbing her eyes with one hand and pinching her friend's cheek with the other. Yugi groaned and tried to duck his head under the table, only ending up nearly banging his forehead on the leg. "Come on, you freeloader. Get up," the woman said, pinching him again and then tugging at his ear. "I am not listening you complaining about neck aches all day."

"Don't complain," Yugi mumbled and opened his eyes, turning his head just enough to glance at her and then groaning and quickly looking away. "Good god, Anzu, put some clothes on."

"My house, I can get to wear whatever I want. Even nothing, if I feel like it," she said and then took him by the duvet and dragged him into the light of the morning. "Get up and go make me some coffee."

"Don't wanna," he groaned again, curling in on himself and tightening the duvet around himself. Anzu tugged once, twice and gave up with a sigh. It was way, way too early in the morning to be fighting stubborn Sources.

"Fine. I'll make some coffee, and you don't get any," she said and stood up, wavering a bit as dizziness hit her and then shaking it off before stumbling towards the kitchen. Behind her she could hear Yugi groaning again, but then he was shuffling back and to his feet, judging by the sound of popping she could hear. His shoulders.

"And stop doing that, it's giving me the creeps!" she called, wincing. "You're going to break your joints that way."

"Up yours," he answered with a yawn and there was a crackle of bone. His spine now.

"Oh, good god, why do I let you stay here? You're ruining an already bad morning and you do it every damn morning too!" Anzu mumbled while tending to her coffee machine with the sleepy single-minded ness of a full blown addict. Except, of course she knew why she let him stay, despite his horrible, bone cracking morning routines.

He had no where to go else, she was his oldest friend. So, basically, he was pathetic and she was a softy. Plus, he'd probably end up blowing the city if she didn't. But mostly because of the sentimentality thing. Damn her weak heart.

"Is there any for me?" Yugi asked hopefully after coming to the kitchen

"Absolutely not," Anzu answered, turning to lean her hips against the counter and watching him as he went about getting the cups, the milk, the sugar. Soon he was getting out the foodstuffs and laying them on the table for what was probably only semi-healthy breakfast.

"You look ridiculous," she commented, raising her eyebrows at his get up. There were better looking suppressor suits, she was fairly certain – and normal looking too. But no, Yugi had to go with the one that made him look like escapee from a bondage act, covered almost head to toe in black leather, with buckles all over, everything made nearly skin-tight. "How can you _sleep_ in that?"

"You get used to it," he answered, slotting his fingers amongst each other and then reaching out, palms out wards, knuckles crackling.

"Oh, that is vile," Anzu said with disgust. "Do you _have_ to?"

"Yes. Yes I do," he said and then grinned at her. "Good morning, my dear Anzu, you are in prodigiously fine mood today."

"I'm going to kick you out," she muttered, turning away – except of course she wouldn't. Shaking her head, she stared at the coffee machine for a moment, yawning once more and wondering. How long had he been living with her now? About a week? Not all that long, but it felt like a small eternity.

It wasn't that bad, all things considered. Her college roommates had been a lot worse than him, and they had had their own rooms instead of freeloading on her couch. But she wasn't used to it. And never would get used to it either, all things considered – didn't want to, either.

Seeing that Yugi had dug out his ridiculously high tech smart phone out, she asked, "Any news?" knowing that he'd be checking his email first thing.

"Hmm," he answered, tapping the screen for a moment, scrolling down, pausing to read and then lowering the phone. "Not yet. They'll probably release the results later today," he said, and the _look_ came to his face.

The guilty, self hating, self pitying look of badly hidden misery.

And Anzu, the softie that she was, had to say that, "It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, it was," he said without heat and pushed the phone to his pocket, not looking at her and for a moment she couldn't think of what to say. In her mind it wasn't his fault – it wasn't like Yugi had forced Kaiba to do what he did. But then, without Yugi Kaiba probably wouldn't have been able to do it in the first place.

Turning as the coffee machine let out a sharp click; she turned the machine off and then carried the pot to the table, with Yugi sitting down opposite to her as she poured. Thankfully, though he did look miserable and small and was slumping down a bit, it wasn't _that_ bad. Certainly not as bad as it had been the first couple of days when Yugi had been going between fits of catatonic horror, bouts of uncontrollable weeping and self loathing.

Now he just looked miserable and resigned – which, while hard to look at, was much better. Especially since, despite the fact that the results weren't in yet, pretty much everyone knew how this would turn out.

Sitting down and lacing her coffee with few spoons of sugar, she contemplated bringing up the painful bits of this business. Yugi had to face them head on at some point, but so far he had been avoiding them – waiting, with something like hope, for the results even though he knew how bad they'd have to be. Once he did get the results and there'd be no denying it…

Would it be easier, to start now – to ease up to it so that when the results came he wouldn't be so hopeful and would instead be better prepared for the hard, cold facts? Would that be better or worse for him?

Eying the man across her, as he buttered a slice of toast and bit into it without much enthusiasm, she made her decision. "Have you thought what you'll do afterwards?" she asked.

He winced and nearly dropped the toast. "Well. A bit," he admitted, taking a bite and swallowing before dropping the slice on the table. "I've got some saved up, I can get apartment and so on – there's some cheap ones in this neighbourhood, right?"

"That's not really what I meant," Anzu said pointedly and he sighed, shaking his head. "Yugi," she said. "Putting aside whether or not it was your or Kaiba's fault, you can't work with him again."

Hell, he couldn't be living with the man anymore either. Probably couldn't get within five meters of the man for the next two, three years. He had to know that, right?

He knew it, judging by the sigh he let out and the way he folded in on himself, his forehead hitting the table. "I am not getting another," he mumbled against the table's surface. "I _can't_, Anzu. I just… I can't."

She sighed and leaned back, sipping her coffee. She probably wouldn't have been able to either, in his place. And it wasn't just what had happened either – Yugi had been living together with the man for, what, nearly three years before this? Living and probably sleeping together too, though she doubted they had been _sleeping_-sleeping together, what with Kaiba being like he was. Maybe occasionally when the man was drunk or high or something, but definitely not regularly.

What had drawn Yugi to the guy anyway, she had no idea, but she knew enough to say that they were close. Had been close. And for three years too – that sort of thing couldn't just be replaced, not even with normal people, but people like _them_? It was almost impossible.

But Yugi was Yugi – and Yugi was bit of a special case even among their sort.

"So, what? You're going to keep going to Grounders for the rest of your life?" she asked pointedly, eying him, knowing he needed the nudge. "You know how much that's going to cost you?"

"Well… There's you?" he said, glancing up with hopeful eyes.

Anzu wasn't impressed. "You're my friend and I love you, I really do, but I am not going to keep doing this for the rest of my life," she said flatly, and felt a bit cruel at his wince but he needed to accept it. "You need to be grounded good two, three times a week, Yugi. And when I do you once, I can't do anyone else all day. And I need to – or I'll loose my job."

He frowned and then lowered his head again, resting his chin on the table. He knew, and she knew he wouldn't ask it of her – he already felt guilty for pushing it on her the way he had, even if there hadn't been much of a choice. Anzu was pretty sure he wasn't planning to stay with her forever.

And keeping that in mind, he needed some sort of plan. And if he needed her to be mean and force him to accept it, then she'd be mean. What were friends for, after all?

"You need another Focus. And not just for you, but for Kaiba too, you know," she said and he frowned. "You know he's not just going to let it go. You being the way you are…"

Yugi sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah," he murmured. "But I don't want another one. I can't. Not like that."

"Then don't get one like that," Anzu answered. "There are other ways for a partnership to work, you know, you've just always gone for the intimate kind. Try a professional kind this one, or maybe hire yourself to a company and Source multiple people. That'll probably prevent you from frying –" she stopped herself half sentence, wincing with guilt as a horrible look crossed his face. "Sorry," she muttered quickly. "I didn't mean…"

Yugi snorted and smiled at that, a horrible empty smile. "Doesn't make it any less true, does it?" he said flatly and then straightened himself up. "You're right. I _should_ get a new Focus. I don't want one, I really don't, but…" he sighed, taking the toast again. "I'm sorry being so miserable. It's this damn suit – I feel trapped. Especially after… well."

"Yeah," she muttered, still wincing. They were quiet for a moment before she looked up. "So? What are you going to do?"

"Register for a new Focus, I guess," he sighed, and stuffed the toast in his mouth with finality.

x

Look at me, I made a Yugioh thing. It's a miracle. And It'll end up mobiumshipping if I continue.


	19. 5 Au Drabbles

Warnings; 5 AU drabbles with Mobiumshipping slash and interactions - which means Yugi, Yami and Atemu together. There's nothing explicit here though. Just various AU interactions ranging from side to side.

**Apple**

Yugi drummed his cheek with his fingers contemplatively while looking down at the scene in the front yard. Atemu and Yami were having a fight. Not in the sense that they were shouting angry words at each other or anything like that, no – that would be practically _normal_ after all. No, they fought the way Kings of Games fought. At their element.

Smiling grimly, the diminutive man examined the scene. Judging by the outlay, Atemu and Yami had developed a new game for their fight. They had drawn a grid onto the yard, and were now, by using some convoluted strategies that at the moment escaped Yugi, trying to get at each other, claim territory, keep the other from claiming territory and, probably, also trying to push the other off the grid. And this all happened while they were smugly and superiorly smirking at each other and throwing thinly veiled insults over the grid.

"Do I even want to know what you're doing?" he asked, leaning his elbow onto the railing of balcony as he looked down.

"Probably not," Yami answered, took a step from one square to another and then, "Ha, that's three points for me, putting me in lead!"

"For now," Atemu answered with a knowing grin and pointed down. "But look where you're standing now. Rather completely surrounded, wouldn't you say? Or, perhaps… trapped would be a better word for it."

"Fool. I am not trapped," Yami smirked right back. "I'm invading."

Yugi rolled his eyes at the two of them as they continued on, smirking and grinning and occasionally pointing accusing fingers at each other. And here he had thought that they had all finally started growing out of their teenage dramatics – that at least _Atemu_ if not Yami would've gotten grip of himself. But nooo… there always had to be finger pointing and dramatic proclaims.

"And that is why you will never dominate me!"

"Oh, so sure of that, are you? Even when I do this?"

"Good try, but not good enough!"

Shaking his head, Yugi sighed. One could almost imagine the cameras rolling somewhere. "Soo," he called out. "How long is this going to take? Because I was going to make some pie and I could use a hand."

"Be right there, Yugi," Atemu answered, without as much moving. "I'll just finish this quickly."

"You mean _fail_, don't you?" Yami asked, amused, and he too just stood still, each waiting for the other's next strategy.

"Alright then," Yugi said, shaking his head and giving both of them up for lost cases. "You kids have fun. Just play nice, no rough housing and if either one of you comes out bleeding, you know where the first aid kit is." With that said, he pulled out of the balcony, shaking his head as he headed for the kitchen

Idiots, both of them. Though perhaps he was lucky that they were so weird, and used their bizarre ways to solve their problems, rather than their fists.

Half an hour later, when the snark-fest coming in through the open balcony door had turned into something a bit more heated and there was suddenly sounds of what had to be some actual fighting, Yugi groaned to himself. "Thought too soon," he muttered, walking back out to the balcony with a bowl of freshly washed apples in hand to see that they weren't actually trying to blood each other's noses.

Yami had Atemu by the collar and Atemu Yami by the waist and judging by the looks of things, they were trying to push each other into the now ruined game board.

Sighing with exasperation, Yugi threw an apple at them.

**Check**

"Why do you wear that?" Atemu asked thoughtfully, looking at the elaborately locked front of Yugi's vest. Yami, though darker and more dangerous of the two, only wore a black shirt of simple cloth, feeble and easy to tear, but Yugi seemed to always wear leather laced shut with buckles. It seemed overly elaborate and possibly tedious to removed.

Except, Yugi never seemed to remove it.

"For protection," the smaller male said, smiling, and nothing else. Still curious, the Pharaoh decided to leave it at that – there were many things about his two doubles that didn't much make sense to him. Why Yugi and Yami were both so pale when he was not, why they wore such strange clothing, why did they sometimes speak in languages he did not know, of things he had never heard of… this was merely one more thing he did not understand.

Not yet, at least.

"We are different," Yami told to him once, when Yugi had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. "In body and mind and spirit – we are same, certainly, but different. We all have different weaknesses. Yugi is not adjusted to the heat of the day here, so he tires in it."

"Does that mean we have different powers too?" Atemu asked. He had seen neither Yami nor Yugi use any powers since their strange arrival, but their lack of surprise and their intimate understanding over the powers Atemu himself wielded was a hint of what they might know and possess themselves.

"Of course," Yami murmured, looking down at Yugi and resting one oddly pale hand on their smallest counterpart's chest. "Some more different than others."

Atemu eventually found that Yami's powers weren't so different from his own. Yami could summon monsters to his peck and call, but with ease Atemu found himself jealous off – Yami needed no focus, no stones, nothing to use as his channels. He reached beyond them somehow, and simply summoned the one spirit he wanted – while Atemu was forced to rely on gold and stone that held the shadow magic within it.

"It's nothing to be jealous off," Yugi said, when Atemu failed to hide his slight displeasure at the limitations of his own powers. "Yami died and suffered for a long time to get that power. I don't think it was worth it."

"What about you?" Atemu asked, uneasy. Yugi shook his head and didn't answer.

Overall, though it was so very strange to have the two around, Atemu didn't mind. Yami was always a great opponent at nay game Atemu might wish to play and Yugi was a wellspring of wonderful ideas, the least of which were his knowledge over the healing arts.

"It's all common knowledge where we come from," Yami explained, as Yugi proceeded to turn around some of their fundamental notions of care of wounds and ailments. "I never paid much mind to it, but Yugi cares for other people so he remembers what might help in odd situations."

They were both great company, and Atemu could feel himself with them. They didn't treat him with the cool respect suitable for pharaoh and didn't keep their distance except when the situation called for it, but instead they treated him with the same, intimate familiarity they showed towards each other. He soon found himself spending most of his rare free time with them, eating his meals with the two at his side, attending to his learning with the two present and, of course, sleeping with Yami and Yugi sharing the bed with him.

Anything else would've felt like silly, needless propriety, and even if Yami would've accepted that, Yugi merely rolled his eyes at the notion that it wasn't _proper_.

And yet, sometimes, Atemu still didn't understand them. Yami was so much like him that sometimes looking at him Atemu was struck by the notion of staring into a mirror – and the mirror only showed one side of Yami and never more. But Yugi was a whole different illusion entirely, strange and familiar, bizarre and comfortable.

Yugi was different. But Atemu didn't realise just how different, before the assassination attempt.

A group of men broke into Atemu's private quarters in the dead of the night, and they were already upon them before neither Atemu nor Yami had awoken. Yugi, though, never slept as easy in the dark as they did and he was awake.

And powerful.

When the flash of light that was and came from Yugi had died out, with Yugi quickly bucking his vest front to cover it, all the assassins were gone, not a sight or sound left of them. Yugi was calm, unrepentant, while Yami shook with horror and even Atemu could feel a shiver run up his spine as he grasped at straws of understanding.

"Yugi is light," Yami explained later. "Light warms and illuminates. But it also burns."

"As I said," Yugi said, testing the heavy buckles of his leather vest, making sure they were secure. "I wear it for protection. I never said it was for _my_ protection."

**Bristle**

When they finally find Yugi, it's been almost a month after Yami's arrival at Atemu's palace. In that time the pharaoh's pale counterpart had not once stopped fretting over "his light" as he called the third one, and when he's honest with himself Atemu doesn't quite understand the worry. Especially not when they finally do find this light, this Yugi who means so much to Yami.

Yugi is a small man, as pale as Yami but weaker, so much weaker. He is dirty and scrawny, his ankles and wrists bruised from the manacles he had been wearing, his head shaven clean. He seems like nothing special – he seems like _nothing_. And yet the sight of him makes Yami laugh and cry and launch into an enormous fit of rage and it takes Atemu all his magical power to keep his counterpart from utterly destroying the owner of this pale, pathetic slave.

Atemu never words his thoughts, however. Not even when neither Yami nor the silent, pathetic Yugi is near enough to hear. He respects – and secretly fears – Yami too much for that. Yami's knowledge and power is strange and undeniable, made of shadows and death and experience that Atemu can't imagine, and so, if Yami wishes to dote upon the wretched creature that Yugi is, Atemu is happily willing to let him.

Regardless of how difficult it is to watch. Yugi is so pitiful and useless and to see someone so powerful as Yami, treat him with such care and kindness… it seems like a waste. Especially when, for days, it has absolutely no effect on the silent creature. Yugi only stares at nothing, never speaks, never looks up – probably wouldn't even move if Yami wouldn't lead him by the hand.

Atemu suspects that Yami has Yugi sleep in his bed too, unwilling to let the small man out of his sight even for that long.

When Yugi eventually begins to react to Yami's tenderness, it only seems to grow worse. As he wounds in his wrists and ankles begin to heal, the small man begins to cry and sometimes Atemu can hear him wail in the night, half smothered by Yami's assurances and soothing whispers. Yugi is confused, often terrified, and he shies away from strangers like expecting them to attack him.

And Yami, so great and strong normally, seems nothing but helpless in front of Yugi's panic attacks and fits of sullen brooding.

It takes another month before Yugi calms down fully, and even then he remains quiet and withdrawn, keeping his distance. Atemu feels unnerved by his silent staring more than once – because now that Yugi doesn't seem so pathetic anymore, he seems… worse. With the grime and wear and tear worn away, it's like there was nothing left behind. Yugi's eyes are empty and he never has an expression other than inner withdrawal and indifference.

"He was beautiful and kind, before," Yami admits to him almost mournfully. "Yugi was the strongest person I ever knew. Never backed down from anything, always looked after others, never laid down for anyone…"

What had happened to him since Yami's arrival had clearly broken him, but Atemu doesn't say that aloud. Even after so many weeks, none of them had yet to hear Yugi speak a single word – Atemu's pretty sure Yami hasn't either. Things would be different somehow, if he had.

Yugi's hair is finally growing back, when it happens. Atemu silently marvels the bristling hair on the small man's scalp – it will be like Yami's, like Atemu's, dark at the back and light at the front.

"There you are!" a voice breathes somewhere behind him and Yami, who whirls around wildly, as does Atemu. There is a spirit gliding in through the window, a golden, shining spectre with a familiar face, but different.

"Yugi!" Yami gasps, looking between the spectre and the wretched creature at his feet, confused, exhilarated, scared. "But what…? How?"

"Sorry, my other self. I got a bit lost on the way," the spectre says, gliding closer while the wretched creature that was – and apparently wasn't – Yugi reached for him desperately. "I've been looking for you all over the place. Thank you for finding my body for me."

"You're… welcome?" Yami answers, confused and hopeful and with interest Atemu watches as the golden spirit smiles and then floats down to embrace the small – soulless – man at Yami's feet.

Then the spectre is gone, and Yugi is smiling up at Yami. He is still small, still too thin, his hair only barely growing back – but he is different.

And, Atemu has to admit as Yugi jumps up and launches an enthusiastic hug at Yami, sending both of them tumbling down to the floor, maybe he's not quite so wretched after all.

**Poets**

Sometimes, a bit more often than he dares to admit out loud, Yugi forgets that there is more to his two lovers than the Shadow Games and strength. It's easy to forget, because it is all so plainly obvious to him, the magic flickering about them, the power they seem to glow with, that inside that haze of strength there is more, so much more, than even he with his long experience with them can easily see.

But sometimes, what's inside shows. Like how Atemu seems to pause every now and then just to appreciate the world around him – to stare at the trees and the plants that grow by the street, to eye the fountains and the water ways. How Yami breathes in deeply and almost greedily every time he steps out of the house, how much delight he can take in simple tasks like washing dishes and dusting the bookshelves. Both of them delight in being able to just _move_ and Yugi gets dragged to their almost hedonistic walks more often than not, finding himself drawn into their delight at being alive, at being able to go where ever they want to.

Atemu loves fruits and would eat nothing but if he'd have his say. He specially loves the sort of fruits that he hadn't experienced before in his previous life – Yugi has never seen a person who likes cherries as much as Atemu does. He loves to eat cold things too, and when ever they go to store at least one carton of ice-cream somehow seems to find itself into their cart. There is always ice in the fridge just for Atemu, who drinks everything cold, coffee and tea and all.

Yami loves music, and so there is always at least one radio playing somewhere in the house. He'll listen everything from classic and cultural music to the newest, most grating songs, just taking delight at being able to hear things. Sometimes Yugi muses whether of not his old dark self liked his mp3 player actually a bit more than he liked his card games, because unlike with his deck, Yami honestly went no where without the music player.

But aside from the things that they now could experience, there were also the things they _were_ on the inside. They had once had another life, which both of them now could recall, along with all the experiences they had had, and all the knowledge they had leaned. Atemu's memories are clearer than Yami's, but both of them share certain… wisdom that had came from having been the Pharaoh once upon a time.

They follow politics that give Yugi a headache, and understand taxes in a way that would have put Kaiba's understanding to shame. Most of what Yugi knows about various forms of governments came from them, from democracies to monarchies, to anarchies, dictatorial governments, and everything else. They understand economy and trade, diplomacy and limitations of geography and never stop marvelling over the modern airplanes and cargo ships and how much they change world trade.

And sometimes they pray to old gods on ancient prayers so ingrained to their being, that they move in perfect, silent harmony.

But still Yugi forgets, because it's the magic and the power that shines brightest – and so, when ever one of them scoots closer in the warm, early hours in the morning and whispers a stance of an ancient love poem to his ear, it always startles him. They are strange poems and translate badly to Japanese, but they are deep and mean a lot and always make Yugi squirm with uncomfortable delight.

"… Your love has penetrated all within me, like honey plunged into water," they murmur to him, and Yugi swears never to let the ice and the music run out.

**Loyalty**

Atemu is very young when his father dies and he inherits the throne of his father's kingdom. He is young, but not too young to see how unhappy the people around him are at the change, or how they whisper, when he can't hear, of putting a regent in control – his father's brother, uncle Akunadin being the prime candidate – because they don't trust his judgement.

He is not stupid and he knows how important it is, how necessary a good ruler was to the kingdom. It still hurts, their lack of trust and faith in him, and how easily they plan to push him and all his opinions aside, even when he knows they are good ones. He has been taught and trained to be the next pharaoh, his father had prepared him as well as possible and yet now it means nothing.

He is pharaoh in name and appearance only. Akunadin is the one who rules Egypt. And maybe he is a good ruler, maybe he is a bad one – Atemu can't tell for sure because he's never allowed to see the effects, never allowed to leave the palace or to talk to anyone without Akunadin there, overseeing everything

At least, that is how it is until _their_ arrival.

They come together, without warning, and when Atemu wakes one morning they are simply _there_, at his side. Two men who look very much like him, but different – both are paler than him, their eyes slightly tinted with blue while his are pure red, and they wear strange clothing, one of them clad from throat to toes in skin tight black leather while other wears a white tunic open at front with long sleeves and blue trousers.

They smile at him; the leather clad one looking proud and determined, the one in white tunic kind and understanding.

Akunadin's reaction to them is mixed, he is startled and then afraid and orders the guards to seize them the moment they take places at Atemu's each side. It doesn't work and when the guard's reach for them their hands go through the pair as if they were intangible – which Atemu knows they aren't, the one in white tunic had helped him dress and had brushed his hair, and it had been very real and physical.

No other attempts to seize the two work, and Akunadin soon turns to trying magic against them. The leather clad one stops the attempt, stepping in front of Atemu and the other one, raising his hand and forming a black shield out of shadows that eats all of the magic thrown their way, growing only stronger with each spell.

And when Akunadin orders the other priests to attack, the one in white tunic sends them fleeing back with a gust of pure white light that burns their eyes and hands and makes a few of them weep.

And Atemu stands between them, fascinated and a bit scared, but the hands on his shoulders are as protective as they are possessive and he feels safe between the two, in the nexus of their raging magic.

In the end, no one can do anything about the two, or send them away. Akunadin tires, and none of the other priests dare to come closer – the attacks end, and the two who look so much like Atemu lower their defences, standing firm but un-hostile at Atemu's sides.

The white one, as Atemu later comes to associate them because neither of them ever talks or tells him their names, looks at him encouragingly and with a deep breath Atemu walks forward, secure in their protection.

To be the Pharaoh of his kingdom, at last.

x

Just some stuff I've been writing at Tumblr, figured out it wouldn't hurt post them here too.


	20. Game - rewrite of Summit

Warnings; A rewrite from earlier drabble, summit. OOCness

Summary; Surprisingly, a mobile phone makes a good weapon of intimidation when you're 3000 years in the past.

**Game**

When Seto wakes up, he's tied up and instantly very irritated. His arms hurt, his neck feels like it's made of cement, and he's fairly sure what he's lying on is stone. Whoever had taken him out, tied him up and in all likelihood kidnapped him hadn't even had the decency of lay him down on a bed, or a couch – no, it was fucking hard stone he was lying on, and the fact that he seriously needs to take a piss does not help matters one bit.

"I am going to kill someone," he swears, opening his eyes and glaring at the corner across the stone floor before shifting, as much as he can, to see the room. It's made of stone throughout and not just any – but very rough and very ugly looking stone that looked like someone had made it by _hand_.

"I'd give a hand, but I'm all tied up at the moment," a voice answers from behind him and Seto stiffens for a moment – he knows that voice.

Sitting up with a grunt – moving with your hands tied behind your back is not easy, and his legs are tied too, damn it – Seto turns to look at the source of the voice. And there he is, Mutou Yugi, in the flesh – and just as tied up as him, though Yugi makes it look less like he's tied up and more like he's _tied up_. But then, he always looks like that – even when he isn't, in fact, tied up.

"Hiya, Kaiba," the shorter teen answers with a uncomfortable grin, squirming where he sits.

"What the fuck?" Seto asks in the most eloquent way possible, glaring down at the other teen who's just sitting there, looking for all the world like… well. Like something Seto doesn't want to admit he did quite a few internet searches about, once upon a time.

"No idea. I just woke up myself," Yugi says, wiggling his shoulders and pulling his knees up a bit – his legs are tied up too, around the ankles of his high-heeled boots and around his knees. "Whoever tied me isn't very good at knots, though," he adds, wiggling his shoulders again. "They're a bit loose. Give me five more minutes and I might be able to get a hand free."

"Have a lot of experience with knots, do you?" Seto asks scowling, and glances around himself again, trying to figure out where they are. There is a window in the room, but it's near the ceiling and so small that it barely lets in any light, not to mention about being any use for telling him where they might be. The design of the room speaks volumes though – because it really is all hand carved stone. No machine-cut would be this rough. And then there is the door too, rough wood, the frames uneven, with no handle.

Who would kidnap _him_ and then put him in a place like this – and with Mutou Yugi of all people? Seto doubts very much that any of his rivals would be stupid enough for this – they'd house him in the best of suites, not in this sort of… dungeon. If the lawsuits he can dish out weren't be enough incentive for good treatment, then simple pride should've been more than enough – not to mention about the change to flaunt whatever wealth they might have at him.

Yugi, though… well, Yugi's enemies are a bit more extravagant – and idiotic not to mention weird as all hell. They might very well throw Yugi in a dungeon, as a sort of foreplay. Or who the hell knew, maybe they are his friends and it really was _foreplay_ – but what the hell was Seto doing there, then? He is most certainly _not_ into the weird shit Yugi is.

All though…

No, damn it, _no_. Puberty or not, he has been kidnapped and this is a very bad time to let hormone induced idiocy into his thought process.

Which begs the question as to how had he been kidnapped in the first place. Last thing he remembers was being home – in his very secure home with two dozen private security guards and state of the art security system. He had been… working with a project, if he recalls right. The new hologram engine.

He can't remember how he might've been snatched though. Drugs? Sleeping gas? Maybe a fast acting tranquilizer dart, shot through the window… except for the fact that all his windows were bullet proof glass. Had there been a window open?

"Where did they get you from?" Seto asks, turning to look at the smaller teen who is still wiggling where he sits, trying to wrench a hand loose.

"I was at, um…" Yugi thinks about it for a moment. "Out. I think I was at the grocery store?" he tilts a bit to the side, grimacing slightly as his elbow bends. "Almost… there… ow."

Well, Yugi has nor needs no security so he would've been ridiculously easy to kidnap – hell, you didn't even need to tranquilize him; the idiot would probably just get into the kidnapper's car, smiling happily like a complete moron. But why? Why them both?

Because of Duel Monsters.

Grimacing himself, Seto shifts a bit until he can turn one of his hands in their binds, and can feel his waist through his white coat. There, the belt with his deck holster – but is the deck there? Getting the holster open through the coat is harder than he would've imagined, but after a moment of trying he gets the button open and the lid up and can feel that – yes, his deck is still there. But is it all there?

"You got your deck?" he asks, turning to Yugi to see, to his secret relief, that Yugi's hands are now loose and he's rubbing at his reddened wrists gingerly. "What do you know, you're actually use for something for once. You still have the god cards?"

The shorter teen gives him a look but shaking his head reaches for his own deck holster and takes the cards out with a easy flip, shuffling through them. "Yep, all here, every card," he says, spreading the deck out in a fan to show the card faces to him – the most visible being the most important cards, the three gods that are now days banned from all tournaments, the dark magician and Magician of Black Chaos and few others of Yugi's signature monsters.

"And not fakes?"

"Nope, I'd know," Yugi says, smoothing the deck into a neat stack and then pushing it back to his holster before suddenly leaning back until he's laying on his back on the stone floor. Seto's eyes widen a bit with horror as the shorter teen lifts his hips from the ground, feeling at the front of his trousers – he's _not_, he _can't be_…

But no, Yugi's only feeling his pockets, wiggling his fingers in, something his trousers would've made a bit difficult sitting down. "My pocket knife's gone, though. My keys too," the smaller duellist says.

"You carry a knife?" Seto asks, feeling a bit more relieved than he'd like to admit.

"Of course I carry a knife. I live in _Domino_."

"I'm pretty sure you didn't carry a knife year ago," Seto mutters, vaguely thinking back to some of the body scans Yugi had gone through at the airports when they had gone to Egypt and came back.

"Well, year ago I didn't really need to, now did I? I'd carry a taser too, if they weren't so big," Yugi says and sits up with a sigh.

"_Taser_?" the taller teen mouths and then shakes his head. "You know what, I don't give a crap. Can you get me loose?"

"Sure, but without a knife it'll take a bit longer. Turn around a bit," Yugi says and then, as Seto turns so that his back and his tied hands are turned towards Yugi, the shorter teen begins tugging at the knots. "Your knots are tighter and you got one more layer of rope on you. I guess they thought you'd be the bigger threat, being taller and all."

"Idiots," Seto snorts. One would think that you would tie the plainly obvious bondage expert a bit better than the guy in a _extremely_ expensive suit jacket. "Can you get them loose?" he asks, telling himself to stop thinking about bondage, goddamnit. This is not the place nor the time.

"I'd say that I could do it with my hands tied behind my back, but that'd be silly," Yugi answers, and works in silence for a moment, tugging Seto's wrists this way and that until the tension around the taller youth's wrists releases. "There, all done," Yugi says with satisfaction as Seto immediately lifts a hand to rub at his aching neck.

"Good," Seto says, leaning his head a bit to the side until his collarbone cracks satisfyingly and some of the tension eases. Then he begins easing the ropes binding his legs open. "Now where the hell are we? You have any idea?"

"Not a clue," Yugi says, releasing his own legs in record speed before getting up and walking to the door. While Seto struggles with the knots, the shorter teen pushes and tugs at the door a few times before aiming a half-hearted kick at it. "Won't budge," he says. "Not locked though – just blocked from the other side."

"Wonderful distinction, and oh so very helpful," Seto grunts with irritation as the knots only seem to get tighter. "Try the window."

"Hmm," Yugi hums dubiously, eying the window which is good meter or so above his head. "I could try, I guess, but…" he trails away. Then, shaking his head, he comes over to Seto, crouching down beside him and waving him to get his hands out of the way. Then, with ridiculous ease, he begins loosening the knots.

Giving Yugi a scowl, Seto gets up and walks over to the window – which is a bit too high for him too, but not impossibly so. Spending a moment to mourn his pride, he boosts himself up, grabbing a hold of the edge of the window frame and then pulling himself up until he can see just barely over the edge.

"Fuck," he mutters. He can't see anything but another wall, maybe meter and half away from the window – and the window itself is too small for even Yugi to wiggle through. "Nothing, there's just another wall there," he says, dropping back to the rough floor. "Where the hell are we?" he asks in irritation, looking around again for some indication – but there's nothing there, but empty floor and them

"Have you pissed anyone off lately?" Seto asks the shorter teen while taking out his deck, just to make sure that the Blue Eyes' are there. They are, though Seto has to inspect them closely to relax fully.

"Not that I know of. You maybe," Yugi says, having gone back to examining the door. He's knocking his knuckles against the wood and frowning. "Solid," he murmurs. "We won't be able to break it, that's for sure."

Seto, still contemplating the room, wondered if he knew any idiots who might want to lock them in a cellar. "Ishtals?" he wonders dubiously.

"Very nice people, I spent the summer at their place," Yugi answers – he's know tapping his knuckles against the walls. "And I doubt they'd put us in a cellar. For one, their house doesn't have a below ground level, and for two, their tombs are good dozen meters below surface, so we'd either be in a room above ground or way below it, not between like this.

"Freaks," Seto mutters, but it's a good point. Unless the Ishtals had gotten yet another place, but he doubts it. And besides the Ishtals practically adore Yugi, they wouldn't have locked him up – and if their opinnions about the idiot had changed, they wouldn't have left him with his deck – at least not the god cards.

"Okay, what other idiots who might do this do we know?" Seto wonders out loud, mentally shuffling through the people he and Yugi might've beaten somewhere along the way. It was a long list.

Yugi considers it too, still knocking the wall here and there. "Someone who'd be able to get you, who'd want to get me too, and who'd put us in a place like this, but without taking our decks?" he answers. "No one comes to mind. And why take my keys? I get the knife, but the keys?" he murmurs thoughtfully.

Seto frowns at that and then checks his pockets. "My keys are gone too. As are all my pens, wait, what the hell…" he mutters, pulling out his mobile phone from his pocket, staring at it in something like incomprehension while Yugi raises his eyebrows.

What kind of kidnappers left their kidnapees with a _mobile phone_?

"Any reception on that thing?" Yugi asks slowly, and Seto quickly turns the power-save off, unlocking the mobile with an eight digit code and lighting the touch screen with a flick of a tiny switch.

He waists for a moment as the mobile tried to search for network. Nothing. Not even a flicker – and no other network opinions available either. "Well," the billionaire says. "I suppose no one would really be _that_ stupid."

"Hmmm," Yugi hums with a suspicious look about his face as he begins to rummage through his clothing, going over his front and back pockets before checking his deck holster and running his hands over the heavy buckled front of his leather vest. "It's a bit strange, though, isn't it?" he said.

Seto nods – it is, and really freaking stupid too. Pushing the phone into his pocket, he resumes going through his jacket pockets before going through his trouser pockets. "My key cards still here," he murmurs, taking out the plastic card emblazoned with the KC logo. "So they took everything that was sharp and metal."

"Well, most things," Yugi answers, tugging a bit at the thick leather collar wrapped around his throat – which, just like just about every other bit of leather he has on, is adorned with metal studs as well as a huge metal buckle. "But I guess you're right. They took everything that they thought we could use as a weapon."

Seto scowls at that. "Which means they don't want us to be able to fight back."

"Which means that whatever they want, we're not going to agree with," Yugi continues worriedly.

"Well, obviously not – they _kidnapped_ us, and I'm not in the habit of agreeing with my kidnappers. Are you?" the taller teen snaps and then they both freeze, as a sound comes through the door – steps that echo, as if in a long corridor.

"We're going to have some company," Yugi says, resting his bracelet and ring adorned hands at his hips and glancing at Seto. "Strategies?"

"See what they want, don't provoke them to kill us, try to figure out a way to escape this hole and then _do_ escape this hole and later sue the hell out of them," Seto says without much thought while smoothing out the front of his jacket absently. That was what he usually did with kidnappings – though Mokuba was the undisputed master of that particular tactic. The kid made his living out of suing kidnappers.

Yugi considers it. "Yeah, okay. We'll go with that," he says and then backs away from the door as they here a clank of wood and then the door is pulled open. Seto stands his ground, arms folded and scowling, waiting to see who the nutcase who dared to kidnap _him_ is.

A pair of men in _loincloths_ enter the room, with swords at their sides and head scarves covering their head. At the sight of Seto and Yugi being unbound, their eyes widen and they pull out their swords, shouting something which sounds very vaguely like Arabic.

"Okay," Yugi says, glancing at Seto while the men shout at them, waving their swords threateningly. "I think we might be in trouble."

"I think this is somehow your fault and I hate you very much," Seto answers with a groan.

x

Seto's irritation only grows worse in the following couple of hours as various men with various forms of ancient weaponry keep shouting at them, first in the room where they woke up, then in a corridor of equal shitty design, and then in hall of even worse splendour where numerous people keep shouting at them, all at once.

"You understand a word of this?" he hisses at Yugi when, finally, attention is finally drawn away from them and the men in loin cloths – few in robes, some with cloaks, but mostly it's all loincloths – turn to shout at each other instead. That leaves Yugi and Seto standing in midst of them, still unbound thankfully but with about half a dozen sword points aimed at them.

"Nope," Yugi answers with a frown. "I recognise it though. Malik flaunted it at me all the time last summer."

"Any chance of this being some sort of stupid joke?" Seto asks, but without much hope. It had been over a year since the Memory World, but he hasn't forgotten - and though _that_ hadn't been real, it had _felt_ real. And this… feels even more so.

"Hm," Yugi hums in answer and Seto can see him nonchalantly glance around himself, now that all attention isn't on them. Seto does the same, following his gaze, noticing the footwear of the people around them, their clothing, what little adornments they wear, the sparse furniture in the room, the way the hall they're now in is lit. Not with candles, but with torches and what looks like mutant bowl with a flame in one of the corners.

Yugi doesn't need to say it – Seto isn't stupid and he too has researched ancient Egypt, well enough to know that this… this is too authentic. It's all too old, ancient – but new at the same time. Recently made. _Fresh_.

"How?" he asks through gritted teeth. "How did we end up here? I thought the Items, that after they were sealed in the stone…?"

"Yeah, I thought so too. Actually I'm not sure this has anything to do with the items, at least not directly," Yugi says and turns to face him. "Don't look, but you see that bald guy near the table, cleaner than the others?"

"The one in a skirt?" Seto asks without looking. Because it has to be a skirt, one can call the rest of them loin cloths because they're short and still look the part, but the bald mans not-loincloth reaches his ankles – and it's not a robe because his chest is bare.

"Yeah, that's the one. He doesn't have any of the insignias, but I think he's a priest. Or a former priest," Yugi says and Seto glances at the man. The bald man is different from the rest – cleaner definitely and he dresses different. And it looks a bit like the guy is in charge too because while he too is shouting, he's not doing it as much as it's being done at him, and yet in the same time all the other men seem to look up to him more than down at him.

"So. He did it?" Seto asks. "You know him?"

"I don't have a clue who he is, can't even tell who his god is, but I can guess," Yugi says. "Maybe even make a stab at why he did it too."

"Oh really?"

"Well, think about it. If this is where – and more importantly _when_ – we think it is… and if that guy is behind this, then the why sort of becomes obvious," Yugi says and glances at Seto who just stares at him with a scowl. "Well, think about it. Ancient Egypt, you and me, lot of rough men with swords holding us captive. Why do you suppose they'd do that – what do you think they might want from us?"

"You don't… they think we're _them_?" Seto asks with disgust.

"We look like them. In certain way, we _are_ them too," Yugi shrugs. "The Pharaoh and his most powerful High Priest." He turns to look around them again, considering it. "I think we were summoned here by these people. Can't say if they were trying to summon the Pharaoh and the Priest themselves – or if they were actually aiming at their look a likes."

Seto scowls and only barely manages to smother a growl while one of the near by men takes a step forward, shaking his sword threateningly. "Either way we're in deep shit?" he asks and Yugi nods grimly. "That figures. And I still hate you."

"Duly noted," Yugi answers and they both fall deep in thought while eying the men around them.

Whatever their… supposed summoners were after, it was obvious Seto and Yugi weren't quite what they were expecting. The fact that they can't speak the local language certainly had seemed to put a stopper to their plans, Seto thinks with mild vindictive pleasure. Except that is somewhat bad for them because it has to be by now obvious that they aren't the pharaoh and the priest and without being able to understand these idiots, what use were they to them?

In his mind, Seto is already calculating how long it would take for these men to decide that they were useless and were better off being killed. With that in mind, he looks around them again, trying to figure out a way to get the hell out of the place.

There are about twenty, twenty five people in the hall. Is that all of them? More had trickled in since the battle royal of a shouting match had started, but no new participants has joined in a while. Twenty five people is a bit more than Seto can take out on his own – he knows enough to defend himself, but not against these odds. And god knows Yugi would be no use, even if he has finally grown enough brain to start to carry a knife.

Without knowing the language there is no way they can talk their way out of this. Without weapons it'd be a suicide to try and fight them, especially in this sort of crowd. If they were locked up again…

"I don't suppose you have any ideas yet?" he asks Yugi without much hope.

"Maybe one," Yugi answers thoughtfully. "The corridor was a bit crowded. I'm guessing the rest of them are too."

Seto considers it, glancing around and at the weapons on the people around them. He remembers his research enough to say that what they're holding are probably khopesh swords, and khopesh are swords for slashes and swipes, for hacking motions rather than for forward thrusts. Tight space would be to Seto's and Yugi's advantage against the swords. The problem is that some of them men also have daggers – and Seto and Yugi are very much unarmed.

"I don't like our odds," he admits through gritted teeth.

"Me neither, but I think it's our best shot – if we get locked up again, we might not get another one, and I don't like the idea waiting while these people grow more irritated with us," Yugi says. "Also, I have an idea," he says, glancing around them and then at Seto. "Your phone has a camera, right?"

Seto blinks and turns to him. "Yes," he says slowly, wondering what the hell that has to do with anything. "What of it?"

"How powerful is the flash?"

Yugi's idea is simple and ridiculously risky, but Seto has to admit it's the best one they got. He has one problem with it, though – namely the fact that Yugi is a freaking shrimp – but he decides not to word it. Even if Yugi is no fighter, the smaller duellist seems willing to _try_ and that's definitely better than him doing nothing.

So, Seto puts his hands casually in his jacket pockets and then fingers his phone, turning the screen on and hoping that he gets the damn keycode right before pressing the camera button to make the thing ready for action. Then he hopes harder than he ever has that Yugi is right and that soon these idiots will decide to put them back in the cell.

It doesn't seem to be high on the agenda of their kidnappers – or summoners or what fucking ever they are. They just keep arguing, shouting what seems to be insults and accusations at each other – mainly at the priest who scowls irritated at his men and with disappointed anger at Yugi and Seto. There is sword waving and more shouting in their garbled language until finally it seems that the priest has enough – he shouts over the noise, probably for silence, and waves a hand at Yugi and Seto, as if waving them away.

Then there are growls and half shouted orders snapped at their way and someone prods Seto with a curved sword point. Glaring at the man, Seto follows Yugi as they are ushered out of the hall and back into the crowded corridor, with two men escorting them.

Two men. _Damn,_ they're lucky.

"When?" Seto asks quietly, trying to figure out the distance between them and the cell where they had been.

"Once we're outside the cell," Yugi says, ignoring the way one of the men grunts at him. "It's further away and maybe that'll be enough to cover the noise. And if it doesn't work out, they might be more likely to throw us in rather than beat us up on the spot."

Good point, but Seto doesn't bother to say that out loud. Instead he submits to being prodded along, still fingering his phone. His palm feels sweaty and his heart is suddenly pounding, but he doesn't let it show. How far were they? How close to the cell?

"Kaiba, get ready," Yugi murmurs, slowing down until he's walking not in front of Seto, but at his side, maybe half a step behind him. Recognising the door a little further away, Seto nods and then makes a sharp turn, bringing up his phone and aiming the camera at their captors, pressing the camera button.

The pre-flash is enough to make their two guard's cry out in shock, but the final, big flash makes one of them actually drop his sword while crying out in sheer horror at the light.

Seto almost snorts at the little electronic click as the camera takes the picture, but there is no time for that. He has to put the phone away and then get to work while the men are still too surprised to put up a fight.

But he's too late. In the span of half a second between the pre-flash and the actual flash, Yugi had already dashed forward – and it wasn't because of the flash the guy had dropped the sword but because Yugi had aimed a cruel, boot-clad kick directly at the man's crotch. As the kicked man falls down with a cry, clutching onto his privates, Yugi slams his elbow into the second man's midriff with all the weight of his body – straight into the solar plexus.

The man stumbles backwards with a horrible croak and then crumbles to the ground, wheezing.

"What the –" Seto asks with shock before getting hit wits back. The men are down but not out of count yet, so he quickly steps forward and takes the fallen sword, before slamming the hilt into the first man's temple, giving him merciful oblivion after having his privates crushed. As Seto straightens up, he sees Yugi already on the second man, sitting on the man's back with the downed man in a surprisingly efficient headlock.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?" Seto asks with shock, as the man struggles for a moment and then falls into oxygen deprived unconsciousness.

"Egypt, actually. And I've been taking some classes," Yugi says, checking to see that the man is properly out cold before shifting back and quickly taking the man's khopesh and then taking the mans knife in it's sheath.

"Classes?" Seto asks, suspicious while twiddling with the sword he had stolen. "What sort of classes?" And why? Yugi seemed like the least likely person to be interested about things like that.

"This and that. Is this really the time?" Yugi asks pointedly while quickly attaching the knife sheath into one of his two belts. "I'm pretty sure the others must've heard that."

"Right," Seto says and composes himself. He'd ask later, maybe. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Together they turn and then begin making their way down the corridor in half jog, Seto hoping against hope that there'd be a easy way out and that they wouldn't find a army of thugs waiting for them when they did find a way.

"How did you know the flash would work?" he asks as they move, trying to figure out a way how to carry the sword and run without endangering himself or his clothing.

"I hoped it would – if this really is the place is it, it's not like they'd know what a camera flash would be. They'd think it's magic and flashy magic…" Yugi shrugs and throws him a grin. "I was kind of hoping it _wouldn't_ work, too."

"Yeah," Seto grunts with disgust and irritation. He's still partially thinking that this is some sort of trick, illusion, maybe drug induced hallucination, _something_, but he's suffered through much Mutou Yugi to really believe it. Worst thing is that he can't even tell himself that this is yet another magic trick and they're again in the Memory RPG because…

There are too many details – and most of them are insignificant small things that the dark Bakura hadn't bothered with in his twisted game. Things like the smell and the sound of sand grinding against stone under their feet and the light, the quality of it – the sword in Seto's hand, old and clumsy and flawed and strange. Too realistic by far.

There is sound of shouts and pursuit coming somewhere behind them, and Seto can hear over their own steps the steps of others. Yugi seems aware of it too as he glances behind them, but they keep running. The corridor darkens until they're running almost perfect blackness and after a while Seto switches his hands with the sword so that he can take out his phone again, and turn the flash-light function on. It helps but not much, lighting only about couple of meters ahead of them and no further.

Still they keep going, turning quickly as the corridor does, passing by closed doors and ignoring the points where the corridor splits, going straight ahead as they try to find a way. As they run, the corridor turns rougher and rougher, and at some point Seto realises that they're running in a tunnel, rather than a corridor.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" he grunts out because somehow, despite his short stature and infinitely shorter legs, Yugi is running ahead of him.

"Nope, I'm just following the corridor," Yugi says between steady, controlled gasps of breath. "Though this way's been used a lot. Look at the floor."

Seto does. It's worn smooth at the middle, while in the corners it's rough. How had Yugi noticed that? Well, it doesn't matter – and as much as Seto hates to admit it, it's not like he has any better ideas.

And then suddenly, without a warning, they're out in blinding sunlight– and Yugi's running right into a man standing there with a sword in his hand. Before Seto can get his bearings, his eyes stinging in the sudden light, there is already a scuffle going on ahead of him. He hears a grunt, a yelp, something in foreign language, sound of metal scraping against stone and then heavy thumb.

When he manages to see, finally, Yugi's sitting on the ground with his legs wrapped around the man's bare torso, pinning the man's arms and his elbow hooked around the man's neck. As Seto watches, blinking with shock, the awareness fades from the foreign man's eyes and eventually he falls limp in Yugi's chokehold.

"What the…?" Seto asks, because the guy's got to have at least forty kilos on Yugi and yet, he's down and out. Then the billionaire shakes his head. "Lessons?" he asks, feeling a bit faint for some reason.

"Hm," Yugi answers, carefully easing the choke and looking at the man in his hold before unwrapping himself from around the man and getting to his feet, leaving the unconscious guard on the floor. "It's all about leverage, most of the time. And physics," the petite duellist says, brushing the sand and dust from his leather trousers and picking the sword he had dropped.

"You beat him with physics?" Seto sneers, eying the smaller male's frame and wondering – how powerful would Yugi's legs have to be to be able to hold a man that size? Then he shakes his head – this is not the time, hell, it will _never_ be the time for this. Pushing the thought from his head he turns to eye the tunnel where they had came from and then look around them.

"This looks… interesting?" he mutters, without much enthusiasm. They're in a _hole_ of some kind, about two meters deep by the looks of it, with foot holds carved to the side, leading up.

"Actually it does," Yugi says and carefully hooks his stolen sword to his belt before turning to the foot holds. While Seto looks somewhat uneasily back towards the cave in case their pursuers might catch them, Yugi climbs up but not completely, only enough to see over the edge. "I think we're just outside some town – there's buildings over there. We might've been under it before.

"So we just escaped someone secret underground base hidden beneath a town. Wonderful," Seto says, his mind thinking fast. If this is the past… now what? They couldn't understand the language, and they were very foreign – much paler than any of the men they had seen so far, and withy stranger clothing. He doubted very much they could just walk into the town without worry. "Can you see anything else out there, some place where we can hide maybe?" he asks.

"No, it's pretty level – there are some rocks here and there, and there's a mound of dirt just next to this hole, probably to camouflage it," Yugi answers, moving couple of footholds up to see better. "No, there's nothing else out there. The area behind the town's green though – I think there might be river there, some sort of water source, but…"

Seto thinks quickly and then makes a decision. They can't stay here, they'd just get captured again. They can't head out to some random directions – if they are in ancient Egypt as they think they are, it'd be suicide to head out without any supplies, water, nothing.

"We'll head for the town, then. Climb up," Seto says and Yugi hoists himself over the hole's edge, clearing the way for Seto to climb after him. Yugi's assessment of the surroundings had been spot on – there's nothing but sand, dirt, some random rocks and more or less anything else near by. The town isn't very far away though, maybe quarter of a kilometre if even that, and when Seto stands he can just barely see water beyond the line of greenery behind the village.

"Do you think it's wise?" Yugi asks, glancing up at him. "I'm pretty sure we just came from there."

It's a point. But they had been held _under_ the town, rather than in it – so he doubts everyone in the place was in on their kidnapping cum summoning. For a moment he ponders going part the town and to the river instead, but… it might not be a river and even if it is, then what? They'd have water, sure, but it probably wasn't even safe for _washing_ not to mention about drinking it.

"Heading for the town is wiser than anything else we can do," Seto says begrudgingly.

Yugi considers it and then sighs. "Yeah, okay," he says, in echo of earlier when they had made their first flawed plans. "We'll go with that."


End file.
